Brussels (MNI) – The European Central Bank must stand ready to
provide a firewall to prevent contagion in the Eurozone even after
Europe’s bailout fund begins operating with expanded powers, Irish
Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Monday.
Arriving for a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers here, Noonan
said that the ECB’s role as buyer of last resort for the debt of
troubled peripheral countries was unlikely to end soon.
“The ECB must continue to play a role,” Noonan said, adding that it
will take some time for the technical work to expand the scope of the
European Financial Stability Facility to be completed.
“Even when it is in place it will be tested,” Noonan said. “That’s
why I’m saying that the ECB must stand ready to provide the firewall.”
Talks on Monday evening among finance ministers of the 17 countries
that share the euro will focus on how the Eurozone can work with the
International Monetary Fund to expand the firepower of the EFSF,
officials here said. The talks follow disappointing results from the
Group of 20 summit last week, where few nations showed interest in
investing in the EFSF.
“We believe it is in the interest of all our partners to help
stabilize the situation,” said Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders.
“But we are going to focus first of all on what Europe and the
International Monetary Fund can do.”
— Brussels Bureau: +32495228374; jduffy@marketnews.com–
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