ECB head calls for political choices to resolve eurozone crisis

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Central Bank head Mario Draghi warned European Union leaders that they should not wait for more emergency help from the central bank to solve the debt crisis rattling the region and instead make the political choices needed to strengthen the euro, the Associated Press reported.

Draghi said Friday, June 15 the ECB has supported banks against the ongoing debt crisis with €1 trillion in emergency credit and that now "political choices have become predominant over monetary policy instruments that we can use in the near future."

The shared currency needs "strengthened foundations" ''strengthened foundations" that will "imply greater transfer of powers to a supra-national level," Draghi said before an audience of economists and analysts at the conference "The ECB and Its Watchers" at Frankfurt's Goethe University.

The central bank chief said the bank stood ready to keep supporting the banking system by continuing to provide credit to solvent banks.

Eurozone tensions are on the rise ahead of Sunday's election in Greece. If a new government rejects the terms of the country's bailout loans, the country could lose further financing and default on its obligations. That could in turn lead it to leave the eurozone, an event that could further shake confidence in the common currency and send shock waves that could undermine efforts by Spain and Italy to fix their finances.

Greece is dependent on bailout loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund after bond investors would not loan it any more money at affordable rates.

Draghi added that he and other top officials working on proposals for a revamped euro will have something "very soon" and that "all the work we are doing is in view of the upcoming summit" of EU leaders June 28-29.