Mario Draghi reproached David Cameron for outspoken demands that the European Central Bank take decisive action to solve the eurozone crisis.
In comments addressed to all EU leaders attending the dinner, the eurozone’s top central banker directly challenged the British prime minister, and warned of the dangers of encroaching on ECB independence.
In the ECB president’s view, this violated the principle of central bankers acting independently and not accepting instructions from politicians. Mr Draghi feared the UK prime minister’s intervention would confuse communications and add to financial market nervousness. Mr Draghi sought to underline the importance of independence to all the gathered leaders. The ECB president did agree with the British prime minister that the eurozone needed a clearer vision of how it would operate over the next few years.
If the eurozone crisis intensifies further, Mr Draghi could have a crucial role in ensuring the stability of Europe’s monetary union. He has already faced calls from François Hollande, France’s new president, and Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, for the ECB to support eurozone government bond markets. But Mr Cameron apparently went significantly further in criticising directly the ECB’s policy actions.
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