Michiel Hoogeveen: "Euro countries must comply with the rules"

The ECB's problematic monetary policy can largely be traced back to the fact that many euro area countries have not adhered to fiscal standards. That's what Michiel Hoogeveen, MEP of JA21 says in conversation with Paul Buitink of Holland Gold. Because some countries structurally did not have their budgets and public debt in order, the central bank must now intervene to prevent fragmentation of the European bond market.

According to Hoogeveen, this scenario could have been avoided if countries had adhered better to the agreements. Because breaking the rules had no consequences, the problems have only increased. That is why it is now time to have a fundamental debate on the euro, the MEP concludes. That is better than trying to keep things together afterwards through monetary policy.

'Eurozone needs an exit mechanism'

To make the euro stronger, Hoogeveen believes that a treaty change is needed. In it, countries should have the option of leaving the currency union. That possibility is not available at the moment, which means that problems in weaker countries have an effect on the entire currency union. As an example, he mentions the debt problem in Greece, which escalated until the first euro crisis. Greece should have had the option to leave the currency union at the time, according to Hoogeveen.

Since then, the 'Ever closer union', the pursuit of ever greater monetary and fiscal integration in the Eurozone, has become a religion. Attempts are being made to keep monetary union together at all costs, with the result that the ECB now has to be more or less the guarantor of the manageability of the debts of the countries of the South. This is a worrying development, and one that deserves a proper debate. Watch the full conversation below.