“Senior European policy makers and business people have expressed concern that the debate over quantitative easing by the European Central Bank risks taking the pressure off politicians to pursue structural reforms.

“Monetary policy cannot do everything,” said a senior ECB official at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, on Lake Como, this weekend. “People expect too much from central banks.”

“The concerns echo a sense of growing frustration at the ECB that governments are keen to keep attention on the central bank’s reluctance to pursue easier monetary policy,to address low inflation, as an explanation for the eurozone’s weak economic performance. At 0.5 per cent in March, inflation in the eurozone is running well below the ECB’s target rate of just below 2 per cent.

“On Thursday, Mario Draghi, the ECB’s president, said he would back more radical measures, including quantitative easing, to cope with “too prolonged a period of low inflation”. But he urged governments not to rely too heavily on central bank actions to restore growth.”

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