• Europe, Draghi: fiscal union is essential
  • Draghi in his last audition: the Eurozone slows down more than expected

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11 October 2019 "I am optimistic about the future of Europe" and "the euro is more popular than ever, while support for the EU is at its peak": ECB President Mario Draghi said at the ceremony for the awarding of an honorary degree to the Catholic University of Milan. "The creation of the European Union, the introduction of the euro and the ECB's operations have encountered many obstacles and faced many critics. And yet - continued Draghi - they have proven their worth and now the" doubters "are being put to in doubt ".

"We need more active fiscal policy"
Draghi then underlined the need for "a more active budget policy in the Eurozone", which "would make it possible to regulate our policies (of the ECB, ed) more quickly". And he reiterated the call on governments to do more not to exacerbate the responsibilities of the central bank. "In the US, for example, between 2009 and 2018 the structural primary balance was 3.6%, in the Eurozone it was + 0.5%," said Draghi. Thus rates in the US could have risen earlier, in the Eurozone they remained negative.

"Continue with institutional reforms to strengthen euro area"
The president of the ECB also urged the need to proceed with institutional reforms. "During my mandate, the ECB has continuously called for the launch of further institutional reforms in the euro area. We welcomed the progress made and urged governments and parliaments to continue their efforts in this direction. We did so because we are convinced that only in this way our monetary union can become more robust and be more able to respond to the expectations that motivated its creation ",

"Groundless that ECB policies have increased inequality"
"The data have suggested and continue to suggest" that "the benefits of monetary policy measures taken" in 2014 and 2015, with the adoption of negative rates and the purchase of bonds, "in net terms, exceed the potential costs said the president of the ECB. "However, like all evidence-based decisions, conclusions must continually be reviewed and updated whenever necessary," which the ECB did by making adjustments to the side effects of negative rates, introducing "tiering for the reserves in excess of banks ". Draghi also recalled that "a detailed evidence-based analysis showed that the concerns that unconventional policies worsen inequality were unfounded and this reinforced the ECB's resolve to pursue its monetary policy path".