The
head of the European Central Bank has warned that the currency union has become
unsustainable.
Source:
Al Jazeera Inside Story - 02/06/2012
Mario
Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), has told European politicians
that they should do a lot more to tackle the debt crisis.
He
says the current setup is unsustainable and has urged member states to take
immediate action towards developing a clear vision for the next few years.
Draghi
warned that the structure of the euro currency union has become unsustainable
and criticised political leaders, who, he said, had been slow to respond to a
European debt crisis now well into its third year.
"Can
the ECB fill the vacuum or lack of action by national governments on the
structural front? And again the answer is no, structural reforms don't have
much to do with monetary policy," Draghi said, adding: "Can the ECB
fill the vacuum left by the lack of euro area governance? And the answer is no.
So, let's ask: What can we do now? What is the next step? The next step is
basically for our leaders to clarify what is the vision for a certain number of
years from now."
And
it appears that Spain has
replaced Greece
as the epicentre of the eurozone crisis, for now at least. New data shows that
worried investors are pulling a record amount of money out of Spain . The
Central Bank says that around $120bn has left the country in the first three
months of this year. But Spain
has denied talk of a bailout
from the IMF.
All
of this has taken a toll on the value of the euro currency. It fell to its
lowest level in almost two years against the dollar. The euro has also slid for
the seventh day versus the yen - the longest losing streak in four months and its lowest level
in more than a decade. It all spells a growing lack of confidence in the single European
currency.
So,
is the eurozone really facing disintegration? Can it survive or is a complete
collapse looking more likely? And is it realistic for all 17 members to remain
in the eurozone?
Inside
Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses this with guests: Jessica Chamba,
the vice-president of the European Movement, a group that aims to promote
European integration; Robert Oulds, the director of the Bruges Group, a leading
Eurosceptic cross-party think tank; and Charles Davis, the head of Macro
Economics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
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