The permanent crisis management mechanism and ensuring economic stability for the future were at the core of the discussions amongst liberal leaders (Prime Ministers, Ministers and Commissioners) attending today’s liberal lunch summit in Brussels.
ELDR President, Annemie Neyts, commented “the crisis management mechanism (CMM) urgently needs to be implemented ted with a view to reassuring and stabilizing markets and I am confident the European Council will take the necessary decisions for this today and tomorrow”.
Sharing the opinion of President Neyts, Finnish Prime Minister, Mari Kiviniemi, gave her support to the CMM noting that “there is a necessity for the mechanism and the speed at which the European Council is set to adopt these measures sends an excellent message to Europe while providing a clear system for strictly conditional liquidity assistance to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole”.  
Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, stated “the decisions taken now will help to address the issues of the day and show to markets that there is political will to bring stability and growth to Europe”.
German Minister of State for European Affairs, Werner Hoyer, added “how we tackle the present challenges will determine the future of the EU. The euro is a cornerstone of EU integration and we must do all we can to defend it. The CMM is needed to restore credibility and to strengthen Europe’s economic and political position”.
Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Belgium, commented “of course we don’t want to see member states collapsing and need an appropriate mechanism to prevent this. There should also be a clear commitment from all member states towards a medium-term goal of better fiscal consolidation”.