Brussels, 15/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 February, Ireland attempted to dissipate doubt after comments by the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, about the ECB agreement with Ireland on extending the repayment deadlines for promissory notes (loans) granted to rescue Anglo Irish Bank (see EUROPE 10782).
At the G20 in Moscow on Friday morning, Mario Draghi is reported to have said that the ECB would be examining the deal to make sure it complied with its rules and regulations. He was speaking after a member of the ECB Governing Council, Jens Weidmann, expressed concern two days previously about the promissory notes amounting to finance for the Irish government, which the ECB is not allowed to grant under the EU treaties.
Unconcerned, an Irish source said that Draghi had said last week that the ECB Governing Council had unanimously taken note of the action by the Irish government in this field, including this bailout. The source said that the ECB's role was to keep a close eye on sovereign bond flows of countries in the eurozone and that was what Draghi was referring to in his comments, which have been taken out of context. The ECB is a member of the troika of lenders to Ireland (the Commission, the ECB and the IMF), and is therefore helping the country get back on its feet. Irish prime minster Enda Kenny said that now the arrangement has been made, Ireland had passed on and would not be repeating it. The agreement will cut Ireland's financing needs by €20 billion over the next decade and help it make a full return to the money markets. (EL/transl.fl)