"Let me be very clear: the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank believes that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate. The prospects of price stability with respect to our decision is unchanged in June." With these words, Wim Duisenberg an unusually hard, even if at times emotional, he first shot the expectations of those called for in view of the ECB Governing Council meeting of July 10, a further fall in interest rates since last December after those that have reduced the rate on main refinancing operations of 1, 25%, increase to 2% now and then, referring explicitly to the statement yesterday in which Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Gerhard Schroeder had called for greater attention to growth from the central bank, he replied curtly that "governments can no longer continue to hide behind the ECB to mask their failures in achieving those structural reforms that Europe has so urgent need. "
Nell'apprestarsi to spend the next month "to eight grandchildren and fishing", as announced in advance over a year ago, and brought before the European Parliament last annual report with his signature, the President of the ECB has therefore wanted to remove some pebbles from the shoes, "the central bank has done its part to create the conditions for economic growth in the euro area, now it's up to governments. " Duisenberg has also stressed the importance of the Stability Pact and the need to respect it, insisting on the hard line expressed by the ECB Governing Council, which in a statement last October had considered the budget difficulties of certain Member States "not caused by the rigidity of rules, but by an insufficient willingness to respect them and the inability to exploit the earlier periods of expansion. "
And since the language is flying where the tooth aches, yesterday afternoon Schroeder was quick to stress that his government is engaged in a difficult program of reforms and tax cuts. But Duisenberg was easy game to remember how long, and not only in Germany, has so far been lost.
Duisenberg, who has collected from many MEPs of esteem for his work in these crucial first five years of the institute in Frankfurt, has also reiterated that the best contribution the ECB can make to growth is the defense of purchasing power of the euro. And the constant and timely reminder of what is the fundamental mission of the ECB still young, is underpinned the success of the Presidency of the Dutch banker. In autumn Duisenberg will pass the baton to the current governor of the Bank of France Jean Claude Trichet. A sequence acquired in a non-clear, but - hopefully - will have to maintain balance the rudder on the policy objective of price stability.
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