12 February 2001, 18:10 AUSTRIA'S GRASSER: EUROGROUP COULD DISCUSS INT. RATES TODAY
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.
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