Mónica Silvares

Finance Ministers of the euro are increasingly concerned about the euro
The finance ministers of the euro area are "increasingly concerned" with the appreciation of the euro against the dollar, which is making successive records, compromising economic growth in the region, already threatened by the North American slowdown.

Mónica Silvares

"In the present circumstances we are concerned about successive fluctuations of exchange rates," said the Finance Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, to journalists at the end of the meeting of yesterday evening with its 15 counterparts of the euro zone. The gains of the currency "are not something encouraging," added the minister in turn Slovenian, Andrej Bajuk, whose country currently ensures the rotating presidency of the European Union.

The euro has risen 16% against the dollar last year and reached the 1.5275 yesterday against the green note, which according to economists is already a serious threat to European exports, which have for you are in a complicated situation, because the financial crisis that began in the United States - and that the main threat to the world economy into recession - is causing a slowing of the world economy. Analysts are of eyes on the European Central Bank as the growing appreciation of the euro can be seen as a pressure for the ECB cut interest rates, even though inflation is at the highest level of the last 14 years.

The President of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, who initially refused to make any comment about the fact that he attended the meeting of the Eurogroup, again back and told reporters that "the policy of the strong dollar is very important." "In the current circumstances, I consider very important that has been said by the American authorities, including the Secretary of State for the Treasury and the President of the United States, according to whom the policy of the strong dollar is in the interest of the United States," said Trichet .