the feeling they can pass their responsibility on to somebody else, then they will choose the easy way out. and this undermines the independence of central banks. how do you asses president obama ’ s emphasis on the need for growth and a more expansive policy? we have to recognise that the recession we are seeing in many countries is the result of a lack of confidence in public finances in combination with an erosion of their competitiveness. there is no easy way out, unless you address the root causes of these problems. and addressing this situation by adding further debt through fiscal stimulus is certainly not the solution. is the us totally wrong? sometimes one has the impression that all of a sudden some realised the importance of growth. but the adjustment programmes are all centred around growth. we have to be honest in this debate. what the protagonists of this discussion mean is publicly financed stimulus packages. and this is something different. perhaps it will lead to a short - lived expansion. but it will aggravate our problems in the future, because it will create additional debt, and there are already doubts about debt sustainability. credit - financed excessive demand was part of the problem, for example when we talk about the housing boom in spain. what about the growth compact. the chancellor has spoken about it. our problem in europe is raising the growth potential. if we debate a growth compact it should be focussed on long - term growth and therefore on structural reforms. this is also what mrs. merkel has in mind. and what about project bonds? to do what? for infrastructure, for example. for infrastructure? i am not convinced that spain and other countries suffer from a lack of infrastructure. what i am missing is an adequate analysis. if there is an impediment to investment, for instance in greece, it is rather too much red tape and an inefficient tax system. i don ’ t believe in further stimulus programmes to cushion the adjustment process. bis central bankers ’ speeches but why not? we have 25 % unemployment in some countries. to give a perspective to the younger generation, you have to tackle the roots of the problem. spain, for instance, had double - digit unemployment rates before the housing boom. it ’ s about the structure of the economy, not about some temporary stimulus. but you don ’ t have only one country in recession, but many countries and actually the whole euro area. so how can we look for growth in the long run? but look at portugal ’

jens weidmann : the financial assistance can only buy time but does not address the root causes of the crisis interview with dr jens weidmann, president of the deutsche bundesbank, in corriere della sera ( it ), publico ( pt ), kathimerini ( el ), el pais ( es ), conducted by ms marika de feo, ms ana rita faria, messrs tom ellis and claudi perez and published on 15 june 2012. * * * the interview was conducted in english. do you think 100 billion is enough to rescue spain, given the path of the recession and the link between banks and sovereign bonds? i generally don ’ t speculate about numbers. regarding the assessment of financing needs, i am relying on the imf and the external evaluators. for what we know now, the amount discussed seems to contain a sufficient safety margin. the decision by the spanish government is an important one because it reduces uncertainty about the solvency of spanish banks ; it thereby contributes to the stabilisation of financial markets. i also welcome the fact that the spanish government no longer hopes for financial support that comes without conditionality. conditionality should be a core element of any financial aid. in the last two years spain has applied reforms in labour market, pensions, financial system, cuts in the expenditure and tax increases. what ’ s next? what are the reforms you have in mind? the key message is that the banking system is a mirror image of the economy. it reflects the situation of public finances through the link with sovereign bonds. it also reflects the competitiveness of the economy and imbalances that have built up in the past, such as the bubble in the real estate sector. an encompassing solution comprises reforms and solutions in various areas. particular challenges are transparency and control of budget execution in regions, and addressing the segmentation of the labour market. together with the labour market reforms already announced, this could give new hope to unemployed youth. but the spanish government is talking about exactly the opposite : that there is only conditionality with banks. what will be the real conditionality of the rescue for spain? because of the interconnectedness of the different policy areas, i think that conditionality should be broad. the impression that this is a rescue with no conditionality outside the financial system is already eroding the commitment to the terms of the existing programmes. is there the risk that other countries, like ireland or portugal,