The European Central Bank expects France and Greece to abide by their fiscal commitments, ECB executive board member Jörg Asmussen said, in the first official ECB reaction to elections that unseated governments that had backed the bank's hard line on deficits.
"I expect France to implement the fiscal pact unchanged", Asmussen told German newspaper, Handelsblatt. "I also assume that the new French government will stick to its promise to bring the state deficit back under the 3 per cent of gross domestic product limit next year", he said.
Turning to Greece, Asmussen warned that there is "no alternative" for the country but to implement its agreed restructuring programme if it is to remain within the eurozone. "It must be clear to all that the fiscal pact--complemented by a growth element--isn't weakened in its substance", he said.
Nasdaq article
Handelsblatt interview (in German only - © 2011 Handelsblatt GmbH)
© Nasdaq
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article