DAVOS: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stepped up calls for a change in direction in European economic policy, a day before the European Central Bank is expected to decide on a massive bond-buying programme to fight the threat of deflation.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Renzi repeated his frequent calls for a change in focus from austerity to growth-oriented policy, saying Europe was currently "not in an economically correct direction".
He said he hoped the new European Commission and the European Central Bank, which holds its policy meeting on Thursday, could help set a new tone.
However he made no specific comment on the central bank's expected move to start printing new money and buying government bonds, so-called quantitative easing.
"I think the first steps of the Commission and the discussion in the next days of the European Central Bank - let me be very clear, I respect the independence of the European Central Bank - could help Europe to give a message of new economic direction," he said.
Quantitative easing has aroused strong doubts in Germany, where many critics fear it will force the euro zone's stronger economies to assume the costs of weaker member states while removing pressure for structural reforms.
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