Mario Draghi has hit back hard at German criticism of low interest rates, insisting the European Central Bank does not take orders from politicians.

马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)强烈驳斥了德国方面对低利率政策的批评，坚称欧洲央行(ECB)并不听命于政客。

Speaking as the bank kept its benchmark interest rate at zero, the ECB president warned that challenges to its independence would dent confidence in the eurozone’s recovery and force policymakers to keep rates lower for longer.

在该行将基准利率维持在零不变之际发表讲话时，欧洲央行行长警告称，对该行独立地位的挑战将损害人们对欧元区复苏的信心，迫使政策制定者将利率在更低水平保持更长时间。

“We have a mandate to pursue price stability for the whole of the eurozone, not only for Germany,” he said. “We obey the law, not the politicians, because we are independent, as stated by the law.”

他说：“我们受命追求整个欧元区的价格稳定，而不仅仅是德国。我们遵守法律，而不听命于政客，因为我们是独立的——这是法律规定的。”

Some of Germany’s top politicians, including Wolfgang Schäuble, finance minister, have partly blamed the rise of the rightwing Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany party on the ECB’s low interest rates — although Mr Schäuble later backtracked. Critics have accused the bank of expropriating savings.

包括德国财长沃尔夫冈•朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Schäuble)在内的德国部分高层政界人士，在一定程度上把反对欧盟的右翼政党德国新选择党(Alternative für Deutschland)的崛起归咎于欧洲央行实行低利率——尽管朔伊布勒后来撤回了这种说法。批评者指控欧洲央行在剥削人们的储蓄。

In a swipe at eurozone politicians’ reluctance to undertake structural reforms and boost fiscal spending, Mr Draghi said: “With rare exceptions, monetary policy has been the only policy in the last four years to support growth.” He said eurozone growth would have been measurably less had it not been for his central bank’s actions over the past two years.

德拉吉抨击欧元区政界人士不愿推行结构性改革和增加财政开支，他说：“除了极少的例外情况，货币政策在过去四年里一直是支持增长的唯一政策。”他说，若不是过去两年里他领导的央行采取行动，欧元区的增长将显著更低。

Mr Draghi also said that the governing council was “unanimous in defending the independence of the ECB and the appropriateness of the current monetary policy stance” in a brief discussion at yesterday’s meeting.

德拉吉还表示，该行管理委员会在昨日会议的简短讨论中“一致维护欧洲央行的独立性和当前货币政策立场的恰当性”。

The ECB council kept the deposit rate on lenders’ reserves parked at the central bank at minus 0.4 per cent.

欧洲央行管理委员会将各商业银行存放在该行的储备金的存款利率维持在-0.4%。

Low interest rate policies have hit savers in Germany, as well as the smaller German banks that rely heavily on interest income for profits. German life insurers, which guarantee minimum returns on investments, have also been hit. Mr Draghi said their business model and the regulatory environment were the prime cause of their troubles.

低利率政策打击了德国储户以及在盈利上严重依赖利息收入的德国较小银行。那些担保投资最低回报的德国寿险公司也受到了打击。德拉吉则表示，它们的商业模式和监管环境是它们所处困境的主要原因。

Higher growth and inflation were, he said, “the necessary conditions for the return of interest rates to a higher level than today”.

他说，更高的增长速度和更高的通胀率“是利率重返比今日更高水平的必要条件”。

The rate hold was widely expected after the substantial stimulus the eurozone’s central bank unleashed in March. Mr Draghi said the stimulus was working, though risks to the economy remained “on the downside”.

在3月份这家欧元区央行推出大规模刺激举措之后，人们普遍预计该行本月会维持利率不变。德拉吉表示，刺激举措正在奏效，尽管经济风险依然“以下行为主”。