The European Central Bank has confirmed that its President, Wim Duisenberg, ‘declined to make any recommendations to specific countries’ in relation to policies to address inflation.
Following his address to a European Parliament committee on economic affairs, Mr Duisenberg was reported as urging, effectively, that Ireland should tighten fiscal policy.
An ECB press statement to Finance said, ‘The President said that monetary policy cannot address country-specific economic issues. That should be done by budgetary authorities and also by the social partners. He declined to make a recommendation to specific countries, because it is up to the authorities in these countries.’
The ECB went on, ‘However, he added that he hoped that these authorities would have in mind what he just said about dealing with country-specific issues when making their decisions. That also applied to Ireland.’
Later, Mr Duisenberg reiterated his line that tackling inflation was a matter for the Irish government at a press conference in Madrid, as reported by the Irish Times, but did not mention any specific measures that should be taken. |
