European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi defended the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policies in Greece and Ireland during his meeting with MEPs at the European Parliament. He said:

“Since 2010, three countries have now successfully completed their programmes, and Ireland is a particularly good example of how such programmes can deliver the necessary adjustment and restore financial stability, economic competitiveness and fiscal sustainability. It has shown that a country which takes strong ownership of its programme can come out of it with robust growth and a more stable financial system, and that eventually employment will also rebound.

There is no doubt that the adjustment process was painful. But we should keep in mind that the adjustment would have caused significantly more hardship in the absence of financial assistance. The programmes had to address excessive macroeconomic imbalances which had accumulated over several years in the run-up to the crisis, often reflecting misguided national economic policies.

As we have said before: don’t blame the fire damage on the fire brigade.

He disappointed traders who had hoped that he would shed light on the possibility of more moentary easing in the eurozone. Instead, he said: “For countries that are part of the single market and that also share a single currency, as in the euro area, it is clear that a fully integrated banking and capital market and a higher degree of institutional integration to protect that market is of great importance.”

Pointing to “clearly visible” risks in comments made to MEPs in the European parliament, the euro slipped.