Common euro zone debt tool would need treaty change - ECB's Mersch

LONDON (Reuters) - Making joint euro zone debt issuance a permanent tool in the bloc's crisis fighting armoury would require changes to the European Union's cornerstone treaty, outgoing European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Thursday.

"What we can and should take beyond the crisis are our common principles that have served us well, such as a common approach to common problems," Mersch said in a speech https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2020/html/ecb.sp201008~cd8a007730.en.html published on the ECB's website.

"We should use this opportunity for a clearer delineation of responsibilities and competences among the different governance layers in our supranational community."

(Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Tom Arnold)