Germany’s Merkel, ECB’s Draghi exchange views

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel exchanged views with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Monday, her spokesman said, as part of her regular informal meetings with leaders of European institutions.

Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, declined to say whether Merkel and Draghi, an Italian, discussed the political situation in Italy or euro zone reform proposals during their meeting in Berlin.

“These are not public meetings, rather it was an exchange of views as she has with Mr Draghi or other chiefs of European institutions every now and then, in confidence,” Seibert told a news conference.

There was no immediate comment on the meeting from the ECB.

Italy’s government was sworn in on Friday, ending months of political turmoil, but investors remain nervous as it promises to increase spending, slash taxes and challenge European Union fiscal rules.

In a weekend newspaper interview, Merkel ruled out debt relief for Italy, saying that the principle of solidarity among euro zone states should not turn the single currency bloc into a debt-sharing union.

“I will approach the new Italian government openly and work with it instead of speculating about its intentions,” Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Last week, sources close to the matter told Reuters that the ECB was keeping a watchful eye on the political crisis in Italy but saw no reason to intervene.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.