France's public debt is very much in the spotlight. The country's recently appointed prime minister, Michel Barnier, calls it a "sword of Damocles" hanging over future generations. Indeed, for many countries, paying interest on the national debt deprives them of investing in education, healthcare, research and so on. Similar debates are happening across the EU, as the European Commission asks member states to submit their debt reduction plans. We ask Jean-Claude Trichet, former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), for his read on the debt situation, and on prospects for an overall European recovery. We also touch on EU-China relations, as a tensions come to a head over the issue of China subsidising the electric vehicles that it exports to Europe.