European People's Party's (EPP) President Wilfried Martens on Tuesday strongly criticised a joint statement issued by Party of European Socialists (PES) Eurozone members at the weekend, which attacked the way the Eurozone's conservative majority were handling the European debt crisis.

Martens expressed confidence that the Eurozone summit will contribute to the stabilisation of the financial situation in Europe, in a written statement released on Tuesday.

“I am certain that the Eurozone Heads of State and Government understand fully the complexity of the situation and will respond with a solution that restores market confidence. The EPP leaders are working hard to safeguard the European interest and will also tackle the different challenges that some Eurozone member countries are currently experiencing. EPP stakeholders in the EU institutions are coordinating regularly at all levels and are acting with determination and responsibility,” said the EPP President.

In the same statement, he was scathing about the European Socialists attack on the EPP and especially the involvement of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is also president of the Socialist International, who he stressed was the only EU prime minister associated with the PES initiative.

“The PES statement was neither coherent nor substantial and its only purpose was to attack the EPP. It’s a superficial statement from a superficial ‘meeting’ and it proves once again that the PES has an archaic understanding of economics. The PES claims to be progressive but its statements and policies are actually regressive and out of touch with reality,” he underlined.

“I was flabbergasted to see Mr Papandreou in particular, talking on behalf of the PES about the lack of political will in Europe. Instead of wasting time on nonsensical political maneuvers with his Socialist colleagues, Europe expects Mr Papandreou to put all of his time and energy on implementing the agreed measures and reforms which Greece urgently needs,” Martens concluded.

The socialist leaders of the Eurozone on Saturday issued a joint statement urging European governments to "reassert their primacy over financial markets" or risk placing Europe’s sovereignty at risk.

A key proposal of their plan included a European 'stability' agency to reprofile the debt of Eurozone member states and help get them back on track when they were at risk of losing stability, as well as the issue of Eurobonds as a tool in this effort.

The plan was worked out during a phone conference on Saturday between Eurozone leaders belonging to the Party of European Socialists, including Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and was later released as a joint statement entitled "A Eurozone based on Democratically accountable economic policy".

Papandreou welcomed the PES initiative stating that: "the European Union has great economic potential but under conservative leadership there is a lack of political will to turn it into policies".