VALLETTA (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday monetary policy alone cannot solve the euro zone's economic problems and called on member countries to take additional actions alongside.
"Monetary policy should not be the only game in town," he told a news conference in Malta. "All countries should strive for growth-friendly fiscal policies."
Annual growth in the euro zone is running at only around 1.2 percent, although there is a large gap between countries.
Draghi said much of this gap could be put down to the efforts countries had made to make their economies flexible, and particularly at getting debt down.
"It is quite clear that a big stock of debt (hurts) growth," he said.
Looking at the currency bloc's economy, Draghi said there were plenty of negative risks, which would prompt a re-examination of policy by the ECB's December meeting.
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"The risks to the euro area growth outlook remain on the downside reflecting in particular the heightened uncertainties regarding developments in emerging market economies, which have the potential to further weigh on global growth and foreign demand for euro area exports, he said.
(Writing by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Hugh Lawson)