Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- European Commission President Jose Barroso said the European Central Bank’s purchases of sovereign bonds since May 2010 have been “critical” in fighting the euro-area debt crisis.

“The decisive intervention of the ECB in the secondary bond market was, and still is, a critical element in securing financial stability,” Barroso said today in Frankfurt. He spoke at a ceremony honoring ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, whose term ends on Oct. 31.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonathan Stearns at jstearns2@bloomberg.net