Populism has weakened European integration, says Draghi

Madrid

THE spread of populist movements is threatening European integration and efforts to find joint responses to immigration, security and other shared concerns, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said in an interview published on Wednesday.

In some of his strongest recent comments on political developments, Mr Draghi told Spain's El Pais newspaper that EU citizens' main worries were "now immigration, counter-terrorist security measures, defence and border protection". "All of these are supranational affairs that require a common response. European integration is the appropriate response, but this has become weaker in recent times, partly because of populist movements," he added.