BERLIN (MNI) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said
Tuesday that reports the Federal Reserve would make loans to a special
fund that would help the International Monetary Fund deal with the
Eurozone debt crisis were not accurate.
“Reports about what the Fed can do are not accurate,” Geithner said
at a joint press conference with German Finance Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble, after the two met in Berlin.
“The IMF has played an important role in this crisis so far, we
expect that to continue,” Geithner said.
Geithner called for “financial support by European governments and
some central banks to build a stronger firewall” against possible
contagion effects from the crisis.
Asked if he pushed for a stronger involvement of the European
Central Bank in his talks with ECB president Mario Draghi this morning
and with Schaeuble this afternoon, Geithner only said that “I’m not
going to speak on what the ECB should do or will do or can do.”
“Ultimately these things can only be solved by governments and
central banks…but their roles are different,” he explained.
Schaeuble said he expected the decisions to be made at the European
summit this week to help bring back confidence. “We are determined to do
what is necessary in order to overcome the crisis,” he said. “The common
currency needs to be backed up by a fiscal union.”
Eurozone governments are also working on bringing forward the
implementation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Schaeuble
said. “This can be signed, sealed and ratified fairly quickly,” he said,
arguing that the Eurozone would then have the instruments necessary to
deal with the crisis.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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