EU governments must reform their economies to boost demand: ECB’s Coeuré
FRANKFURT—Governments in the eurozone must reform their economies to take full advantage of policies aimed at boosting demand, European Central Bank executive board member Benoît Coeuré said on Friday.
“It makes little sense for European countries to stop reforming now. This would mean taking the pain but missing out on the gain. And it would only make getting out the crisis harder,” Mr. Coeuré said in prepared remarks to a conference in Riga, Latvia.
Mr. Coeuré’s remarks come amid renewed concerns about the eurozone’s growth prospects. Gross domestic product stalled in the second quarter and recent data point to only slight growth, at best, during the third quarter.
Inflation, meanwhile, has weakened to levels far below what the ECB considers optimal for the economy. Consumer prices were up just 0.3% in September from the previous year, far below the ECB’s target of just below 2% over the medium term.
That inflation goal “is the anchor of the adjustment process and it is our duty to deliver it within our mandate,” he said. As part of that effort, the ECB has undertaken stimulus measures in recent months including rate cuts to record lows as well as new bank-lending and private debt purchase programs.
