Is the ECB condemned to offset euro-zone countries’ fiscal policy mistakes?

F iscal policy in the euro zone became less expansionary far too early after the 2008-2009 crisis : the fiscal deficit declined sharply from 2011, whereas unemployment in the zone rose until the second half of 2013. This prematurely restrictive fiscal policy contributed to amplifying the euro-zone crisis (2010-2014) and forced the ECB to conduct a highly expansionary monetary policy from 2011. Today, fiscal policy in the euro zone is rather restrictive (mainly as a result of fiscal policy in Germany and the Netherlands), while growth is slowing and there are excess savings over investment in the zone. This is contributing to the ECB keeping its monetary policy ultra-expansionary. The fact that the ECB has to offset overly restrictive fiscal policies in the euro zone is a problem: It results in an abnormally expansionary monetary policy, with the associated risks; It poses a problem of democracy: if governments and parliaments opt for an overly restrictive fiscal policy, is it the ECB’s responsibility to correct it?