German president rebukes ECB bond buying

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German President Christian Wulff on Wednesday criticized the recent decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy the eurozone sovereign bonds as "asking for trouble."

According to Wulff, the ECB's recent purchase of eurozone sovereign bonds could be acquiescent for debts-ridden countries to skip steps necessary to ensure a balanced public finance.

"That is asking for trouble in the long run and can only be tolerated in the interim," he said, adding that the ECB should "return quickly to its agreed basic principles".

"I consider the sizeable purchase of individual states' bonds by the European Central Bank to be legally questionable," Wulff said.

German central bank, the Bundesbank, said on Monday that the ECB's purchase of sovereign bonds could make those indebted governments less inclined to implement what are "appropriate financial policies."

The ECB resumed buying eurozone sovereign bonds from Italy and Spain earlier this month, in a bid to ease pressure on the two countries by forcing down their borrowing costs.

With approvals from national parliaments, the 440-billion-euro stopgap European Financial Stability Facility is set to replace the ECB in government bond purchases.