The French, who will take office Friday at the head of the body, did not wish "(s) 'express on the monetary policy to be decided under (s) presidency.
A few days before taking office at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde detailed, Wednesday, October 30, at the microphone of RTL his vision of economic policy and issues in the euro area. But she warned: "I will not speak about the monetary policy that will be decided under my presidency until I have had the time, the resources and the data to jointly define this policy. "
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Budget surplus countries accused of failing to make "necessary efforts" to revive
The former French finance minister and former boss of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has tapped countries in budget surplus, saying they "Have not really made the necessary effort" in stimulus to consolidate fragile growth. "We obviously think of countries (…) like the Netherlands, Germany, a number of others in the world "she detailed.
"Why not use this budget surplus and invest in infrastructure, why not invest in education, in innovation to allow a better rebalancing in the presence of current imbalances? ", continued the one who will succeed on Friday 1st November to Mario Draghi, whose accommodative monetary policy has regularly been the subject of strong criticism across the Rhine.
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Not enough "solidarity" in the euro zone
"Central banks, as a whole, have done their job", judged Mme Lagarde, regretting, however, that they have sometimes been "A bit alone in the maneuver". In the euro zone, "There are not enough elements of solidarity (…) we share a currency, we do not share many budget policies for the moment. "
"There is no – and we can deplore – a common budget for the euro area", even if finance ministers "Seem to have anchored the elements of a budget" which must now be approved by the Heads of State and Government.
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"Jobs" preferred to "protected savings"
Christine Lagarde has also defended the policy of interest rates very low to support the activity rather than pay better savers. Asked about the negative effects of near-zero or even negative rates on the remuneration of savings, she wondered "What would have happened if the ECB had not done that".
"Would not we now have a situation with a lot more unemployment, with even smaller growth, and have we not, finally, done well to arbitrate in favor of employment, growth, rather than the protection of savers? "
"We will be happier to have a job rather than having a protected savingsshe assured. I think it is in this spirit that monetary policies were determined by my predecessors, and I think it is quite salutary as a choice. "