Germany's Merkel: Politics should ensure ECB won't become overstrained

[September 26, 2019]  BERLIN (Reuters) - The task of politics is to ensure that the European Central Bank won't become overstrained with its monetary measures, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sits at the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, ahead of a session on the government's proposed climate programme in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

The aim of ECB's interest rates policy is to have more homogeneous competitiveness, Merkel said, adding that the interest rate level was being perceived differently in different parts of Europe.

Earlier this month, the ECB cut rates deeper into negative territory and promised bond purchases with no end-date to push borrowing costs even lower, hoping to kick-start activity nearly a decade after the bloc's debt crisis.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, writing by Riham Alkousaa)

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