Mario Draghi: Euro Zone Setup Unsustainable

The Euro sculpture is seen in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Photo by EPA/BGNES

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has called on euro zone members to clarify their vision for the future of the single currency bloc, saying the current setup is "unsustainable".

"Can the ECB fill the vacuum of lack of action by national governments on fiscal growth? The answer is no. Can the ECB fill the vacuum of the lack of action by national governments on the structural problem? The answer is no," Draghi said, speaking to the European Parliament.

"The next step... is to clarify what is the vision a certain number of years from now. The sooner this is specified, the better it is."

EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn said more austerity was needed if the euro zone was to avoid disintegration.

"We need a genuine stability culture and a much upgraded common capacity to contain common contagion," he told a conference.

"This is the case, at least if we want to avoid a disintegration of the eurozone and instead make the euro succeed."

Meanwhile it emerged that Germany's unemployment rate fell below 7% as Europe's biggest economy continued to perform strongly.

Euro zone inflation figures are due out later.

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