FRANKFURT: Some of the debt-wracked eurozone countries are making "very substantial, very significant" progress on getting their finances in order, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday. "Let me say what we are witnessing now is that some of the stressed countries are undertaking very substantial, very significant progress in the fiscal consolidation area, there is no doubt about that," Draghi told a news conference here. "I think that to some extent, the markets are showing some appreciation for this."
The ECB has persistently argued that while it is willing to act as a firefighter in the eurozone's long-running debt crisis, it is ultimately up to governments to get their finances in order and restore markets' confidence in their ability to service their debt.
At a summit last month, EU leaders agreed to conclude a so-called fiscal compact that would legally bind eurozone governments to curb their deficits and sanction those that did not.
The governing council "welcomes the agreement to move to a stronger economic union," Draghi said.
"The new fiscal compact, comprising a fundamental restatement of the fiscal rules together with the fiscal commitments that euro area governments have made, is an important contribution to ensuring the long-run sustainability of public finances in the euro area countries," he said.
The swift deployment of these tools was now urgently needed, Draghi continued.
"It would be good if this fiscal compact could be signed at the end of January, not in March" as originally agreed, he said.
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