Eurozone’s Future Remains at Risk, Mario Draghi Warns

FRANKFURT — In a contentious appearance before the European Parliament on Wednesday, the president of the European Central Bank said that the future of the eurozone was at risk unless member countries gave up some independence and created more Pan-European government institutions.

“We have not yet reached the stage of a genuine monetary union,” the central bank president, Mario Draghi, said in a speech to the European Parliament in Brussels. Failure of eurozone countries to harmonize their economies and create stronger institutions, he said, “puts at risk the long-term success of the monetary union when faced with an important shock.”

Mr. Draghi has often urged eurozone governments to do more to improve their economic performance, for example by overhauling restrictive labor regulations. But it was unusual for him to suggest that the future of the eurozone could depend on whether countries heed his advice.

Bernd Lucke, leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party and normally no fan of Mr. Draghi’s, gestured to the large number of empty seats in the chamber and noted that most members of Parliament had also not bothered to show up.

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The New York Times