ECB should not be charged with budget surveillance, Weidmann says

The European Commission should not be responsible for surveillance of member countries´ budgets, a top European Central bank official said.

In comments to German daily Handelsblatt, ECB Governing Council member Jens Weidmann said the role was too political.

"I do not believe that a Commission which interprets its mandate as politically as the current one is best suited to ensure budget surveillance in Europe," Weidmann said.

"Wolfgang Schaeuble and myself are both convinced that this task should best be shifted to an independent institution which is not subject to any obvious conflict of interests," he added.

In the past, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has indicated his preference was for the surveillance responsibility to be transferred to the European Stability Mechanism.