Members of ECR Group today asked the European Parliament in a plenary debate in Strasbourg not to tolerate and justify violations of the mandate by the European Central Bank (ECB) for political reasons. ECR MEP and Professor for Economics Joachim Starbatty said: "The ECB is acting politically and unrestrained. The ECB is conscious of the risk of inflation as a consequence of its low-interest policy. The cheap money puts pensions and insurances of the European citizens and the banking systems at risk. It also leads to an overheating of property markets. It makes the citizens poorer every day, but this fact gets adeptly ignored." Starbatty urged the European Parliament to review the mandate of the ECB and to work towards a right of withdrawal for euro-countries for which the euro is too strong.

Since March 2015, the ECB has been buying state and corporate bonds of up to € 80 billion a month on the secondary market.

Joachim Starbatty also said:

"The monetary policy of the European Central Bank only produces a flash in the pan and is highly dangerous in the long run. The reason for economic stagnation in the south of the Eurozone is a false relative price. Incorrect relative prices cannot be matched by money printing."

"The common exchange rate is a straightjacket in which Greece impoverishes and Germany has artificial records in exports."

"The European Parliament is blind to economic logic and leaves a politically active ECB that threatens the prosperity of its citizens for short-term success."

“The zero interest rate policy of the ECB contains an incalculable long-term risk. It punishes savers, fuels asset price bubbles and endangers the banking and insurance systems.”

“The true reason for economic divergence in the Eurozone is a false relative price. You can’t correct that by printing money – the only solution would be an adjustment of exchange rates.”

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Contact: Michael Strauss on +32 470 882348,michael.strauss@europarl.europa.eu

The ECR was created to take the EU in a new direction, according to the principles of our founding Prague Declaration. It is the third largest group in the European Parliament with 74 MEPs from 18 EU states.

For more information on the ECR, watch our promotional video at http://youtu.be/F5syQt1JuQI or visit our website: www.ecrgroup.eu