EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said he is not worried by the euro's recent advance against the dollar and other currencies, even though a strong euro could pose a risk for euro zone economies.
The euro's rise generates certain problems for the export sector, but it also serves as a shield against inflation, because it's a way of paying less for oil," Almunia said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.
"There is no reason to be alarmed by the situation," he said. Almunia also said the current monetary policy of the European Central Bank is not restricting growth in the euro zone, especially since interest rates are lower now than in the past.
"The reasons that we have lower rates of growth in the euro zone are of a structural order," he said. "The proof is that with the same currency, the same institutions, and the same economic and monetary conditions, there are countries in the zone, like Finland and Spain, that have very high growth rates for the past 10 years, and others have weak ones, for example Italy, Germany and Portugal."