ECB’s Trichet confident on euro, Greece rescue

The euro zone has a strong programme in place to help debt-laden countries like Greece, and the euro is a very credible currency, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet told Russia Today in an interview broadcast on Monday.

"In the case of…Greece…we are in a situation where we have a strong programme and we are very keen to control its implementation on the spot," he said.

"My working assumption is that it will work."

Inflation in the euro zone is currently averaging 1.98 percent, Trichet said, adding that was in the line with the ECB's definition of price stability.

"European investments are attractive, I have always said…that the euro is a very credible currency which has its value in terms of price stability over 11-½ years," Trichet told the English-language television channel.

Price stability remains the ECB's main goal, he added.

Trichet welcomed assertions of confidence in the euro <EUR=> from Russia, which holds around 40 percent of its $400 billion plus reserves in European assets.

"I have appreciated enormously what has been said by (Russian) Prime Minister (Vladimir) Putin (on the euro), what has been said by a number of authorities in China and in the rest of the world," he said.

To ensure the euro zone remains on the recovery path, governments must bolster the confidence of consumers and investors by sticking to strict fiscal goals, he said.

"The core of the economic union is the surveillance of fiscal policies…What is extremely important is that they (the governments) not only behave properly themselves, but they are under surveillance, under close monitoring by their peers," Trichet told the television channel.

"I call myself, on behalf of the governing council of the ECB, for decisive progress in implementing this surveillance."