Jo discussed the ongoing crisis in the eurozone on Newsnight last night with Jeremy Paxman and Katinka Barysch, from the Centre for European Reform.

Jo said that the Merkel-Sarkozy fiscal pact is "just one part of a multi-step solution and Standard & Poor's reaction illustrates the fact that France and Germany actually don't have much credibility when it comes to enforcing fiscal rules. I remember when I was a Paris correspondent back in 2004 or 2005 when they were the original sinners – when they broke the rules – so this fiscal pact needs to be reinforced and it need to be reinforced in a number of ways: we need to have collective borrowing mechanisms, and we need to see the European Financial Stability Facility financed by the European Central Bank or we need to see eurobonds".

When Paxman asked him about the repatriation of powers from Brussels, Jo responded: "Certainly there are commitments to repatriating certain powers such as the working time directive. That's in the coalition Programme for Government so I'm sure that if the opportunity arises, David Cameron will pursue it."

Jo denied that the British are irrelevant in Europe and bring nothing to the table, adding: "We're one of the largest economies in the EU and our voice for the liberalisation of the single market is powerful and heard and very much appreciated." Focussing on potential attacks on the City, Jo argued: "I think Britain needs to have more self confidence and say: 'Let's win each argument on its merits'. George Osborne did that to fantastic effect last week in Brussels with the Financial Transaction Tax when that was clearly against European interests and he effectively batted it off".

To watch the full episode of Newsnight click here