Seigniorage fraud: ECB's Trichet urges rigor

Jul 04, 2010 08:30 ET

ECB's Trichet urges rigor in budget policy

By Associated Press

AP

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet listens to a journalist's question during a press conference at the end of the " High-level Eurosystem seminar with central banks and monetary agencies of the Gulf Cooperation Council " forum, in Rome, Wednesday, June 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

The head of the European Central Bank says governments should be "rigorous" in their budget policies.

Jean-Claude Trichet said Sunday that governments have to juggle a declicate balancing act when setting spending and tax guidelines.

They need to instill confidence in households so they keep spending, in companies so they keep investing, as well as in savers and investors.

That requires a "very attentive" control of budgets, he told reporters at the sidelines of the Rencontres Economiques conference in southern France