"Who authorised you to violate the limits of your mandate in defining the adjustment programmes of the troika?" GUE/NGL MEP Marisa Matias asked European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi today during a debate on her report that assesses ECB activities during 2011.
"The ECB has been a central actor in the adjustment programmes which are failing - in terms of growth, unemployment, deficit, and debt - while the recession spreads through the Eurozone. Such activity is not only clearly beyond the bank's mandate but is also producing damaging economic and social consequences."

"In this house there are those who insist that Parliament must refrain from taking a critical stance regarding the activity of the ECB. As representatives of these citizens, we must voice their concerns. Parliament must take a clear position on the policies being followed by the bank. If the European Parliament fails to have such a critical position, it will be actively responsible for those misguided policies."

"This report is constructive, proposes alternatives to exit the crisis, suggests improvements, commends, but also criticises the ECB. We need a central bank that works in the interests of citizens, not economic speculation," said Matias calling for more transparency and democratic controls on the ECB.

The vote on the Matias report will take place tomorrow lunchtime in Strasbourg.