LUXEMBOURG (AFX) - Eurogroup president Didier Reynders said it is up to the European Central Bank to make decisions on interest rates. Speaking at a press conference, Reynders, who is also finance minister of Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said that unlike the US the euro zone has more room for manoeuvre on monetary policy than on budgetary policy. He said however monetary policy is the "independent decision of the ECB". He added that all agree the margin for budgetary manoeuvre is "very weak, but it is different on the monetary side," where it is up to the ECB to decide. The ECB has come under fire from French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius for not cutting rates at last Thursday's meeting of its governing council. Reynders added, "What is important is that since the beginning of the year on these themes the dialogue (between the Eurogroup and the ECB) has been taking place." He also said the euro and the stability pact are enabling the euro zone to better withstand the "external shocks" of the global slowdown which has been exacerbated by last month's terrorist attacks against the US. He said that at its meeting last night the Eurogroup confirmed the position taken at Liege, Belgium, three weeks ago that the global downturn was already affecting the euro zone economy and that the attacks have made the situation worse.