FRANKFURT (MNI) – There should be no discussion about the European
European Central Bank’s future president yet, ECB Governing Council
member Yves Mersch said in an interview with Greece Real News, released
Saturday.
“The President of the ECB will be in office until late October.
Until then he needs the maximum support by all colleagues and allies
rather than discussions about his potential successor in these
challenging times,” Mersch said.
Mersch made this comment after being addressed as one of “the main
candidates” for the job.
The head of the Central Bank of Luxembourg stressed that the
“crisis of public finances in several countries is “no crisis of the
euro as a currency. The Euro is one of the most stable and credible
currencies in the world.”
“The concerned countries have to take bold and sometimes tough
measures to tackle their respective problems. But this does by no means
challenge the Euro area’s unity or viability,” he said.
Mersch reiterated the ECB’s call for a larger and more flexible
European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) as well as tougher euro
area rules “to avoid fiscal profligacy and excessive debt.”
“More ambition than is contained in the EU Commission’s current
proposal for reform is warranted. Last but not least, macroeconomic
imbalances should be prevented and corrected at an early stage,” Mersch
argued.
Turning to the Greek adjustment program, Mersch said that Greece
had made “impressive” achievements in fiscal policy. However, “some
tensions are evident in budget implementation, in particular shortfalls
in revenue collections, and problems with spending control,” Mersch
said.
“The program has been designed to address these problems, and the
work is progressing,” he noted. “For the future, it will be crucial to
comply with the economic adjustment program. ”
–Frankfurt bureau: +49-69-720-142; email: jtreeck@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$G$$$,M$EC$$,MFX$$$,MGX$$$]
