FRANKFURT (MNI) – European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet said Thursday that the Eurozone’s emergency crisis fund should
become active in secondary bond markets “as soon as possible”.
Eurozone leaders agreed at an emergency summit in July to grant the
European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) the power to intervene in
government bond markets, subject to certain conditions. But
implementation of the measure still requires the approval of national
parliaments.
At his press conference here, Trichet said that all the measures
agreed at the summit should be “fully implemented in all their
dimensions in a very effective and rapid fashion.” The EFSF’s ability to
intervene in secondary bond markets “should, in our view, be operational
as soon as possible,” he said.
Although the lengthy approval process needed before the EFSF can
intervene has been criticised, the ECB president said he expected the
EFSF to be “effective in its interventions.”
“This would permit us not to have to intervene,” he said.
The ECB’s interventions have been controversial among Council
members for putting the bank’s own capital at risk. Trichet noted that
the decision for today’s bond buys was not taken unanimously.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also urged the
17 heads of the Eurozone today to rapidly implement the crisis response
measures agreed last month. He called for improvements to the fund,
including a discussion on whether its size should be increased.
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