ECB launches last-ditch attempt to save euro
Jerome Hughes
Press TV, Brussels
European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi, was putting on a brave face following an ECB Governing Council meeting. However, in reality he has little to smile about. Draghi has announced that the ECB is to pump €1.1 trillion into the eurozone economy in what many experts consider is a last-ditch desperate attempt to save the currency.
In a move known as quantitative easing, the ECB will buy bank shares with the aim of pushing down interest rates in the 19 eurozone countries. Lower borrowing costs should encourage people and businesses to take out loans for products and services which in turn would boost the economy and create jobs. Many EU legislators believe that the ECB should have acted much sooner.
Banks in the eurozone are not lending money to firms and so dozens of businesses are closing down every day. The net result is that more than 18 million people are unemployed in the euro area. Some experts have been pouring cold water over the ECB's latest efforts to try and stimulate economic growth.
In a statement, the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies has said that the measures announced by the European Central Bank smack of desperation and the bank's attempts to raise inflation are most likely doomed to fail.
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