The Bank officials themselves asked where the boundaries of macroprudential policies end and those that govern monetary policy that targets interest rates start.
Like most of his economist peers Bernanke thinks that the traditional gold standard, which governed monetary policy in Great Britain and eventually elsewhere from the early 1700s to the 1930s, caused or at least deepened the Great Depression.
Officially, the guardians of monetary union have refused to discuss in public the possibility of member states abandoning the euro — a contingency not even addressed in any of the treaties governing the monetary union.
Under the rules that govern the monetary union, members are not allowed to run deficits greater than 3percentt of their gross domestic product.
The gap between Europe's politicians, particularly those in small countries, and the currency markets can be explained partly by the peculiar nature of the agreement that governs the monetary union.
But criticism was swift when he did not sound louder alarms while in charge of enforcing rules governing the European monetary union, particularly with the problems plaguing Greece.
Both men are members of the European Central Bank governing council, which sets monetary policy.
"We are not in favor of restructuring, haircuts and so forth," Mr. Trichet said at a news conference after the bank's governing council met about monetary policy.
Asked about Mr. Weber's comments by the Italian newspaper La Stampa last month, Mr. Trichet said, "There is only one single currency; there is one governing council, only one monetary policy decision, and one president, who is also the porte-parole of the governing council," using the French word for spokesman.
Under the treaties that govern the European Monetary Union, the European Central Bank is guaranteed political independence.
