FRANKFURT (MNI) – The German government has no plans to further
boost the financial resources of the European bailout fund ESM,
Chancellor Angela Merkel said following a European leaders summit on
Friday in Brussels.
“I have made my position clear that it should not be stepped up,”
Merkel said. The upper limit for the EFSF and ESM remains E500 billion,
she said. “Offering ever more resources is not a solution for the
crisis.”
Still, Merkel said that the Eurozone could provide up to E150
billion in new bilateral loans to the International Monetary Fund. This
would boosts its capacity to intervene also in the Eurozone, she said.
Merkel said that Eurozone leaders “naturally” had not discussed the
role of “the independent European Central Bank” in the crisis. ECB
President Mario Draghi on Thursday disappointed widespread expectations
the ECB could step up support measures in response to a successful
summit.
Merkel argued that the summit had indeed been successful and that
all Eurozone countries are committed to a treaty change that will bring
more power to European institutions. The draft of the new treaty will be
presented in early March, she said.
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; e-mail: frankfurt@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$G$$$,MFX$$$,MGX$$$,M$$CR$]
