International

European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi must appear before the Parliament of the Netherlands to give an explanation of his policies. A majority in Parliament’s main legislative chamber voted on Thursday to support SP Member of Parliament Arnold Merkies’ proposal that Draghi be summonsed. Explaining the move, Merkies says ‘Draghi increasingly talks like a politician, yet no-one elected him. It’s time that he answered for his policies in front of representatives of the people.’

Merkies notes that the policies pursued by Draghi have far-reaching consequences. “The ECB pumps €80 billion per month into the economy but does nothing to ensure that the money ends up in the real economy,” he says. “As a result, you get enormous bubbles created in the financial sector. It’s these bubbles which bring about instability and which are leading once again to a crisis. I want Draghi to tell us how he plans now to prevent that happening.”