EU finance ministers defend ECB independence

Several EU finance ministers have stressed their support for the full independence of the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB), shortly after the victory of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had attacked the bank's interest rate policy in his election campaign.

"I don't think that the ECB can be put, or should be put, on a leash," Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister said at a press conference following the ministerial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (8 May).

He...