The Labour Party has strongly criticised a proposal from Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank that eurozone members in breach of the region’s rules on public finances be excluded temporarily from Europe’s political decision-making.
Party leader Eamon Gilmore said Mr Trichet was “overstepping his role” with the suggestion.
“The rules for decision making within the European Union are set down in the European treaties. They are not a condition of what’s happening in the European Central Bank mechanism.”
“If that statement was intended to be directed at this country it is misplaced. It is also way beyond his remit as president of the European Central Bank,” Mr Gilmore said.
He said the changes proposed by Mr Trichet, in an interview with the Financial Times today, were "something that cannot and will not be permitted to happen".
Mr Trichet has no role in how decisions are made within the European Union, Mr Gilmore added.
Mr Gilmore said: “Ireland’s intentions with regard to meeting its obligations and getting the deficit down has already been set out to the Commission”.
He said there was a “timeframe and there is certainty about that because the Labour Party and the other main Opposition party Fine Gael supported that timeframe and that objective.”
The controversial suggestion by Mr Trichet would be part of a “quantum leap” in the governance of Europe’s monetary union, needed to prevent a future Greece-style economic crisis.
Mr Trichet’s comments highlight how he is trying to shape the debate on eurozone reform, which is expected to culminate in the coming weeks when Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, reports on how to revamp the rules.
Following Greece’s public debt crisis in May, the bank has been at the forefront of lobbying for tougher rules – backed by sanctions – and the independent monitoring of public finances.
The Frankfurt-based bank has rejected the idea of a eurozone member being thrown out. But Mr Trichet said the “temporary suspension of voting rights is something that should be explored”.
His proposals could run into trouble with member states, especially as it is not clear that the withdrawal of voting rights would be possible without changing EU treaties.