International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has ruled out the possibility of a Eurozone collapse, although she did warn its leaders that they must act quickly to strengthen the region before central bank measures run out.

"I don't believe there is a risk of a collapse of the Eurozone," she stated in an interview with Le Figaro, though she added that European leaders still need to "act more quickly on a national level and at the level of the euro area".

Along the same lines, Lagarde insisted that "nobody has the luxury of time. There is a real emergency".

While the IMF chief didn't specify exactly what the danger is if not the risk of a Eurozone collapse, she insisted that Europe must "strengthen the European Union and the architecture of the euro area" before the positive effects from the European Central Bank's measures run out.

Lagarde also applauded efforts being made by both Greece and Spain. In this last case, she added that "if Spain wanted, we could intervene in various ways."

JM

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