Central Bank chief warns eurozone will remain weak

He said he expects growth "to remain weak in the near term and to recover only gradually thereafter."

Ignoring the effect of ECB-backed austerity programmes, which have weakened every economy forced to implement them, Mr Draghi pressed for cutbacks and privatisation, claiming that "in countries most strongly affected by the crisis, noticeable progress is being made in the correction of unit labour cost.

"Decisive product and labour market reforms will further improve the competitiveness of these countries," he insisted.

Ominously, the ECB head welcomed the European Commission proposal for a single supervisory mechanism involving the ECB which would give "an effective supervisory framework and full compatibility with the single market framework, including the role and prerogatives of the European Banking Authority," a reference to a common economic policy for EU countries enforced on national governments.