Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), accused France and Germany of having deepened the current debt crisis in the eurozone due to their poor example regarding fiscal discipline.
According to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Jean-Claude Trichet stated that by violating the Stability and Growth Pact in 2004, the largest economic powers of the eurozone allowed for a relaxation of budgetary discipline."I wish that German citizens had reacted indignantly to the violation of the Stability Pact in 2004 as they did regarding our decision to purchase government bonds," he said, alluding to the unprecedented move by the ECB in May aimed at stopping speculative trading and restoring market stability. He asserted that neither the government in Paris nor the one in Berlin adhered to the rules for which they fought to implement, forcing a dilution of the Stability Pact regulations related to strict penalties in cases of excessive government deficits."These governments have been extremely unreliable, for months and years," Trichet said. He also ruled out the possibility of bankruptcy for debt-laden eurozone countries, such as Greece, Spain, or Portugal. "We will not allow that," he stated. (H)
