VIENNA (MNI) – Europe’s single currency has proven its worth and is
not going away, even if some countries end up leaving the Eurozone,
European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny suggested
on Tuesday.
Speaking at a symposium on the euro here, Nowotny, who heads the
Austrian National Bank, noted that the single currency has provided the
countries that use it with “internal consistency which is not broken by
exchange rates.”
He argued that “with the ECB’s commitment to price stability, a
stability was created for the euro which is much higher than for the
former currencies in any of the member states.” And, he observed, it
would have been “impossible” for the Austrian central bank, or even
Germany’s Bundesbank, to provide the same liquidity support that the ECB
has.
“The euro has proven that it is a shield for all its member
states,” Nowotny added. “Of course there are problems in some member
states, but the euro as a currency has proven itself and it will remain
the currency for core Europe.” He did not elaborate on what he meant by
“core Europe.”
Nowotny’s predecessor at the Austrian central bank, Klaus
Liebscher, who also participated in the symposium, strongly rejected the
notion of a country leaving the Eurozone, as many analysts have
speculated could be the fate of Greece.
“Certain countries leaving the euro is first of all against the
treaties, and secondly not a solution since the [same] economic problems
would remain in place in those countries,” Liebscher said.
“This would only lead to an economical-political disaster in the
rest of Europe, because all states and economies are closely
intertwined,” he added. “There must not be extreme national interests in
European states, but rather we need political entities and politicians
in Europe who are willing to look at the greater picture.”
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