German finance minister’s adviser calls for ECB aid conditions

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner addresses the media during a news conference on budget law for 2023 up to 2026, in Berlin, Germany July 1, 2022. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

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BERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) – European Central Bank (ECB) aid to tackle rising government debt yields in some euro zone countries should come with conditions, an adviser to German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

The ECB’s biggest shareholder, Germany’s Bundesbank, laid out its conditions for providing fresh support to the euro zone’s most indebted countries on Monday, after opposing such aid at an emergency meeting. read more

In comments published in Der Spiegel magazine on Friday Lindner’s economics adviser Lars Feld urged the ECB to attach conditions to any aid in order to promote economic reforms.

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“Anyone who wants money from the central bank out of turn must be prepared to provide something in return,” Feld said.

There was no comment immediately available from the finance ministry when contacted by Reuters.

The ECB decided at the June 15 meeting to direct bond reinvestment to help euro zone countries on the bloc’s southern rim and devise a new instrument to contain divergence in borrowing costs between them. read more

Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel, who disagreed with that decision according to sources at the meeting, warned against trying to decide the right market…

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