Playbook loves a mystery that gets Brussels tongues wagging and the German government up in arms.

Today’s example stems from a story in Handelsblatt Global claiming, “the European Commission is drafting a proposal to bundle some debt of the eurozone states into a new financing instrument called ‘European Safe Bonds.’ The goal of the bonds would be to reduce the risk of member states going bankrupt or contagion spreading through banks. The commission aims to publish a white paper on the subject in March.”

The story went on to suggest that the plan already had the backing of the European Central Bank (ECB). If true, that would mean a further radicalization of ECB policy just as Germany’s Bundesbank is campaigning for interest rates to rise and for a scaling back of the ECB’s controversial asset-buying program.

No surprise then that German ministries were frustrated. After all, Angela Merkel said in 2012 that there would be no Eurobonds “as long as I live.”

It turns out this mystery is a case of mistaken identity.

The ECB has no plans for Eurobonds. They pointed reporters to the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), which is also chaired by the president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, and is indeed drafting a research paper on safe bonds.

According to Playbook’s sources, the paper is due out in May, and will examine ways to limit the exposure of banks to the debt of European national governments. One idea under discussion is a financial product that bundles the debt of several countries into a single basket of debt, which investors would then buy to diversify their government debt portfolio. Some might call that a bond, as Handelsblatt did.

The European Commission joined the chorus of frustration at the Handelsblatt story.

“This is ongoing work at the ESRB,” Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said, speaking to reporters after today’s meeting of European finance ministers. He added: “I would not mix the (Commission) white paper together with it.”

In other words: Dombrovkis said the Handelsblatt article incorrectly referenced not one, but two different pieces of work.

The Commission wants you to believe the Handelsblatt story is wrong, but it won’t provide any confirmation of what is in the second piece of work: a White Paper on the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union due out in March.

Whatever is in these two papers, you can breathe easy: they’re ideas and recommendations only.