Highlights from "Rethinking the Eurozone" debate at WEF

Following are highlights from the Rethinking the Eurozone discussion held at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on Thursday.

GREEK PRIME MINISTER GEORGE PAPANDREOU
"Is the euro zone to blame? I put first of all the blame on us. I don't want to play politics, but in the previous government there was a lot of mismanagement.

"We developed a lot of corruption at the highest levels and we did not take the structural measures to change our economy, to move our economy, to make it more competitive.

"All these problems have been exacerbated because of the international crisis.

"There is a credibility gap -- that is the first deficit -- and we are moving in the next few days to create an independent statistics bureau with members from the Eurostat on it and a parliamentary bureau that will be following our budget.

"The euro zone for us has, whatever difficulties it may have, been very important for us.

"The euro zone also creates a buffer for some of the problems which will allow us to restructure and move ahead.

"We are determined and we think the euro zone is an asset for our country and for Europe."

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK PRESIDENT JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET
"We are all under stress still. We all have lessons to be drawn from the crisis.

"Let me remind you that in euro area according to the IMF, the overall public finance deficit will be of the order of 6 percent. The same IMF says in that in the United States it will be in the area of 10 percent.

"We all have very, very tough issues both at the level of the euro area as a whole and in individual countries.

"I would say that the Stability and Growth Pact has worked, even if we are permanently calling for full and rigorous respect of the pact."

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO
"No one is going to be leaving the euro, I would like to insist. On the contrary, there are going to be more countries in the euro.

"The euro club is a strong club with reciprocal support."

"We must be one of few countries with economies of a certain size where the banking landscape has not changed at all because the crisis has not brought about bankruptcies.

"(The sector) has proved quite resilient."