ECB's Coeure: countries should spend what they can to help economy

[FRANKFURT] Countries should spend and invest what they can to help the eurozone bolster growth, a policy setter at the European Central Bank said on Wednesday, adding that pursuing responsible fiscal policies can help achieve this aim.

"Using fiscal space would speed up the euro area's return to growth," Benoit Coeure, who sits on the ECB's executive board, told a conference. "In many countries, such fiscal space simply does not exist, because rules have not been enforced in the past."

While conceding that there was "no appetite for moving towards a 'United States of Europe'", he urged the eurozone's members to "integrate their fiscal and economic policies".

He also backed the idea of creating independent 'fiscal councils' to monitor countries' compliance with fiscal rules.

REUTERS