European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that EU governments, not the central bank, must take “fundamental” measures to solve the region’s debt crisis.
“Our policies can only be the bridge towards a more stable future… governments must undertake more fundamental measures,” Draghi said, after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
“We expect the economy to return to growth next year… governments must act to ensure this immediate upturn strengthens rather than weakens,” he added.
Draghi said Europe’s economic plight and fragmented financial markets necessitated “exceptional measures.”
“Regaining stability sometimes requires exceptional measures. We cannot always look to the past; we may need to take new steps… In the current circumstances, the greatest risk to stability is not action, it is inaction. That is why the ECB has acted. ” he said.
Draghi emphasized that unprecedented steps taken by the ECB, such as its unlimited bond-buying program, were within the central bank’s mandate.
— By CNBC.com's Katy Barnato
