BRUSSELS (MktNews) - Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser said Monday that the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers could discuss the current interest rate environment in the euro zone at its meeting here today.
Speaking to reporters as he entered the Eurogroup meeting, Grasser said: "it could be a question to discuss interest rates" among eurozone finance ministers, whose meeting precedes the broader Ecofin (EU-15 finance ministers) gathering.
Grasser said, however, that he believes that inflation in the euro zone is "under control" and "growth is quite good."
Grasser also said that the current pro-cyclical budget policy of Ireland is seen as a problem by other members of the EU. "Ireland should do something," he said, because that nation's current budgetary policy is "not rational."
He added, however, that Ecofin has to be "fair" to the Irish, acknowledging that it is one of the smallest economies in Europe.