O BCE e o Pacto de Estabilidade

Deixem funcionar os estabilizadores automáticos, que têm maior amplitude na área do euro que nos EUA, e "não fomos nós nem a Comissão Europeia" que aprovou o Pacto de Estabilidade. Esta pode ser a síntese da resposta do presidente do BCE quando questionado sobre a utilização da política orçamental para combater a actual crise, à semelhança do que está a ser feito pelos EUA, com a aprovação de economistas e da Reserva Federal:

Pergunta:
(...)And the second question is on fiscal policy. You have been very categorical in rejecting the usefulness of discretionary fiscal policy. The US is just about to implement a discretionary fiscal package which was supported by a large number of economists, international institutions, and even the Fed. Does your rejection of this instrument have to do with the fact that the European economy might react differently from the US economy to such packages or is it that you have a different view of how the economy operates?
Resposta de Jean-Claude Trichet:
"As regards our fiscal position, again, I said that for monetary policy we have different economies, different features, structural features of the economy and different shocks that we have to cope with. One important difference between the US and Europe which I have to underline (...) is that we are balanced. We are financing our investment with our savings and we have no domestic or external imbalances. We are balanced. In the US, as you know, you have a big level of imbalance. That makes a difference on the two sides of the Atlantic. I mention that en passant but it is something which deserves to be underlined. Let me also say that when I look at the level of public spending as a proportion of GDP, we are very significantly higher in the euro area in comparison with the US. So when I say “let the automatic stabilisers do their work”, it means something much more important as a proportion of GDP in our own case than in the United States of America. So, again, when you look at the precise situation on both sides of the Atlantic, you see that you have to take everything into account. We have to take into account the Stability and Growth Pact. It is not just a matter of the Commission, which is the guardian of the Stability and Growth Pact. The Stability and Growth Pact has been decided by the governments themselves. We did not sign the Stability and Growth Pact. It is not the Commission that signed the Stability and Growth Pact. It has been signed by the governments: the unanimous governments of the European Union and, of course, the euro area."

Versão complea pode ser lida aqui.
Interessante como, indirectamente, se pode admitir que Trichet considera o Pacto de Estabilidade como um elemento que limita a adopção de medidas de política orçamental na área do euro para combater a actual situação.