Brussels, 26/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Mario Draghi, President of the Economic and Financial Committee felt, on Thursday before the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Committee, that the economic prospects for the Euro zone are mitigated. He compared the official forecasts from the European Central Bank and the European Commission, which foresee a growth of 3%, with those of the private sector that oscillate between 2.6% and 3% and admitted that the latest German consumer confidence figures show signs of a cooling in this country. He confirmed that, for the EU Finance Ministers, the priority remains budgetary consolidation associated to measures aiming to promote growth and employment, the coordination of the economies and the continuation of structural reforms, especially in the labour market. He qualified as "premature" any modification of the rules on the Growth and Stability Pact. If we return to larger public deficits, and even in the hypothesis where this would include an increase in spending in terms of investment, it would result in a rise in interest rates, which would not be without adverse effects on growth and employment, he added. For him, the reason for which the flow of capital leaving Europe had reached an enormous volume last year simply lies in the hope for better capital remuneration.