The 16 finance ministers of the European Union, whose countries use the euro as the official currency, agreed Friday on the need to maintain tighter control over budgets.
Jean Claude Juncker, the euro group president and prime minister of Luxemburg, said at the end of the meeting that the debate has focused on "drawing conclusions from the crisis we are currently suffering."
He also highlighted the need for the European Commission to develop new control mechanisms in accordance with Article 136 of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Juncker stressed the need for fiscal vigilance and to find solutions to the problems that arise from some imbalances in the euro zone, such as in competition. He added that future Euro group meetings would look at the competitive situations of its members.
"We have begun that process in Spain and Finland: Portugal and Luxemburg will be next," he said.
Juncker stressed the need to put a permanent mechanism into action to combat the current crisis, while also confirming that Greece had not asked for aid from the International Monetary Fund to help with its economic crisis.
Meanwhile, Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, highlighted the need to strengthen the Pact for Stability and Growth, which obliges member states to maintain budget discipline.
"The commission is calling on member states and the EU Parliament to use the full potential of the Lisbon Treaty in three objectives. First to reinforce the stability and growth factor, second to deepen and broaden economic surveyance and third to set up a permanent crisis resolution mechanism," Rehn said.
The Euro group meeting precedes an informal meeting for the EU Ministers of Economy and Finance on April 16-17 to discuss how economic coordination of the EU can be improved./.