European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said Sunday that key ECB rates would remain “very close to zero” for a prolonged period, regardless of economic developments in the rest of the world.
Coeure, speaking at the Cercle des Economists conference in Aix-en-Provence in southern France, said the ECB was intent on creating the financial stability needed to restore investment and growth in the Eurozone.
“Rates will stay very close to zero for a long period,” Coeure said. “We are taking care of financial stability.”
Coeure said the Eurozone economy remained “very worrying,” with slow growth, high unemployment and high debt.
“The only way to get out of this situation is to invest,” Coeure said. “We get out of the crisis by growth, not by adding debt to the debt.”
Coeure said Europe also needed greater institutional stability to attract investment. In particular, he said only those countries that undertook major economic reforms should expect greater flexibility to reduce their budget deficits.
“There should be flexibility for countries that make major reforms, not for countries that promise, or make take reforms later,” he said.