Central Banks

Draghi discussed Trump stimulus prospects with EU leaders: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mario Draghi, pictured a month before Draghi took over as president of the European Central Bank in November 2011.
Ralph Orlowski | Getty Images

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi discussed the prospect of a new U.S. stimulus program under President-elect Donald Trump during talks with EU leaders on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

"(Trump) played a role in the report of Mario Draghi with regard to the the interest rate decision in the United States, and the question of what sort of investments will be made or what kind of program we will see," Merkel told reporters at the end of an EU summit. "But everyone said that we should wait for real decisions."

The German leader also said she planned to discuss Greek plans to offer a pre-Christmas payout to low-income pensioners when she meets Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Berlin on Friday.

"As far as the Greek decisions are concerned, there is a critical discussion. The ESM made this clear," she said, referring to the euro zone's bailout mechanism.

"I'm sure I will speak with the Greek prime minister about this tomorrow, although I don't intend to get involved in the negotiations on the Greek package."