FRANKFURT (AFX) - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck insisted again that European Central Bank independence was 'sacrosanct' amid French calls for the ECB to be
made more answerable to politicians.
'The ECB's independence is sacrosanct. There can be no doubt about that,' Steinbrueck told the business daily Handelsblatt.
A number of leading French politicians, including the two presidential candidates, Segolene Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, have recently said the ECB should pay closer attention to the opinions of euro zone government leaders in its interest rate decisions.
Repeated rate hikes by the bank over the past 12 months have led to a rise in the value of the euro against the dollar, with French exporters feeling the pinch.
Steinbrueck did say, however, that debate between the ECB and euro zone finance ministers was 'appropriate and necessary.'
'It must be allowed to discuss internally with the ECB representatives, say within the Eurogroup, the macro-economic effects of rate changes,' Steinbrueck said.
But he rejected the idea of issuing direct recommendations to the ECB.
The ECB has raised its key rates six times since December 2005, last notching them upwards by a quarter of a percentage point to a five-year high of 3.50 pct.
Steinbrueck said the tighter monetary conditions were not detrimental to German growth.
'I have the impression that the German economy is strong enough to stomach the current level of interest rates, which is still comparatively moderate from an historical point of view,' the minister said. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/jfb/gp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
'The ECB's independence is sacrosanct. There can be no doubt about that,' Steinbrueck told the business daily Handelsblatt.
A number of leading French politicians, including the two presidential candidates, Segolene Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, have recently said the ECB should pay closer attention to the opinions of euro zone government leaders in its interest rate decisions.
Repeated rate hikes by the bank over the past 12 months have led to a rise in the value of the euro against the dollar, with French exporters feeling the pinch.
Steinbrueck did say, however, that debate between the ECB and euro zone finance ministers was 'appropriate and necessary.'
'It must be allowed to discuss internally with the ECB representatives, say within the Eurogroup, the macro-economic effects of rate changes,' Steinbrueck said.
But he rejected the idea of issuing direct recommendations to the ECB.
The ECB has raised its key rates six times since December 2005, last notching them upwards by a quarter of a percentage point to a five-year high of 3.50 pct.
Steinbrueck said the tighter monetary conditions were not detrimental to German growth.
'I have the impression that the German economy is strong enough to stomach the current level of interest rates, which is still comparatively moderate from an historical point of view,' the minister said. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/jfb/gp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited