The European Central Bank "obeys the law, not politicians, because it is independent and its mandate covers the entire Eurozone, not just Germany". Mario Draghi replies in no uncertain terms to the controversies triggered by Wolfgang Schaeuble: “We continue to expect that rates will remain at current levels or even lower for an extended period of time – said the ECB president at the end of the Governing Council meeting which confirmed euro rates at an all-time low on Thursday –, therefore well beyond the horizon of our asset purchases”, currently scheduled for September 2017 The ultra-expansionary monetary policy has been strongly criticized in recent days in Germany by the German Finance Minister and by a large part of the political class and public opinion.
To those who asked him to comment Schaeuble's claims according to which the low rates of the ECB are responsible for the rise of populist parties in Europe, Draghi said that the German minister “then retraced his steps: he said he did not mean what emerged from his words. There is no link between monetary policy and the rise of populist parties”.
Moreover, "our policies are the same as those implemented by many countries around the world – continued Draghi -, the United States has kept rates low longer than us. Would a non-Italian president have implemented a different policy? My predecessor, the French Trichet, said in a recent interview that he would have made the same decisions ”.
A brief statement was also reserved by Draghi at the bottom of the Atlas, created by Italian banks to help recapitalizations and the reduction of non-performing loans: the fund "is a small step in the right direction", commented the president of the ECB.
Returning to monetary policy, later last month's cuts, the ECB board has left the refinancing rate main to zero, overnight deposit rates at -0,40% and the refinancing rate marginal at 0,25%. Draghi then confirmed that it started this month "the expansion" of the monthly securities purchase program from 60 to 80 billion euros and will also include insurance securities.
The number one of the Eurotower specified that these decisions are part of a recovery which, while continuing, is held back by "persistent" global uncertainties, while inflation “it could turn negative again in the coming months”, before starting to grow again towards the end of the year.
Draghi denied that the Bank has ever discussed the hypothesis of "helicopter money”, that is, of direct loans to families, because it would be full of “difficulties” also of a legal nature.
