Boosting investment is “only way out” for Europe – ECB’s Coeure
Governments must do more to aid the European recovery, by cutting sovereign debt and boosting the level of investment, says European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Benoit Coeure.
Speaking in Aix-en-Provence, France, Coeure said that the current economic situation is very worrying, and that "the only way out is by investing".
But this should not be done by "piling more debt on old debt", instead urging Eurozone governments to take action and implement "proven" reforms.
The ECB official said that the central bank will keep interest rates very low for a very long period of time, but that governments must also help to promote growth. He also suggested that they will remain near zero even after other central banks have hiked their own rates.
Last month ECB president Mario Draghi unveiled a package of five measures: two interest rate cuts and three measures aimed at boosting liquidity in the euro area. The rate cuts, to its refinancing and deposit rates, took the latter into negative territory.