European Commission President Jose Barroso said he is close to proposing options on joint euro-area bond sales, putting officials in Brussels on a collision course with Germany over steps to contain the debt crisis.

"The commission will soon present options for the introduction of euro bonds," Barroso told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, today, prompting applause from lawmakers who have backed the idea. "Some of these options could be implemented within the terms of the current treaty; others would require treaty change."

The idea of bonds sold jointly by the euro area's 17 nations remains alive because unprecedented bailouts by governments and the European Central Bank have failed to stamp out debt concerns that began in Greece almost two years ago and rattled markets in AAA rated France last month.