Europees Parlement verwerpt rapport dat rentebeleid ECB prijst (en)

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - MEPs rejected a report praising the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate policy on Tuesday (5 July) in a rebuff to bank president Jean-Claude Trichet i.

Members voted down the text by 296 votes against 287 with 14 abstentions, in a u-turn on the decision of the economic and monetary affairs committee, which had earlier approved the document written by German center-right MEP Kurt Lauk.

The report praised the ECB's policy of focusing on price stability as a means to sustainable economic growth.

Prior to the vote, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said the parliament's views as expressed in the paper were "very close to those held by the ECB", singling out "the diagnosis that the relative weakness of economic activity can be attributed to a lack of structural reforms".

But some socialist MEPs criticised the top bank's decision to keep interest rates stable, saying it should focus less on stability and more on economic growth.

The parliament's vote is not legally binding on the ECB, but does represent a slap in the face for Mr Trichet, who has been facing mounting pressure to cut rates from some eurozone members in recent weeks.

But despite some apparent hints of a future cut from the bank president last month, analysts do not expect cuts to be announced at this week's upcoming ECB meeting.