IMF for tighter belts

European nations may need to surrender some control over public spending and other policies to resolve a crisis in the 16-nation euro zone, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said.

European nations may need to surrender some control over public spending and other policies to resolve a crisis in the 16-nation euro zone, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said.

HT Image

“The idea that you can build a single currency and just let everybody do what they want is wrong,” he said, calling for closer coordination among the euro zone governments at a time when the euro is under stress.

Economic growth may stay below par until the euro zone moves beyond a mere monetary union. “You cannot have a single currency with a single decision maker in terms of monetary policy and 16 decision makers” for spending and other issues, Strauss-Kahn said.

agencies