In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Trichet said that Italy is not in the same situation as Greece. He called for the full implementation of the Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact as it is the way to achieve stronger governance in the future and avoid any similar crises.
During the interview with the Italian newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore”, Trichet said that Italy is not at all in the same situation as Greece. Italy has shown resilience in this difficult period. In particular it was able to contain its yearly budget deficit and it has committed to get back to a sustainable situation according to the European rules. The ECB strongly encourages it to implement this programme rigorously.
When asked if the ECB was against the IMF intervention, Trichet said he was not against the IMF involvement in itself but was against the involvement of the IMF alone. The ECB has always been in favour of the maximum level of responsibility exerted by the governments of the euro area, as is prescribed by the Stability and Growth Pact. The pact is at the very heart of EMU: it calls for member countries to assess and judge the fiscal policies of their peers; this peer surveillance can impose sanctions. In the days preceding the EU meetings, the ECB called on all governments to live up to their Treaty responsibility and to the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact which is essential for the EMU to function well. From this point of view, the declaration of the euro area Heads of State or Government is appropriate. It is also a good and workable solution.
He repeated several times that the possibility of a Greek default will not occur as Greece is already taking the right decisions to solve the situation.
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