Volker Wieland, IMFS Managing Director and designated member of the German Council for Economic Experts, defended the Council in the business weekly Wirtschaftswoche against critics who said that it had not taken an active role in the sovereign debt crisis. Wieland pointed out that the Council had already dealt with the future of Europe in detail and, for example, had recommended to establish a European banking regulatory authority outside the European Central Bank (ECB).
Wieland said that an advantage of the Council was its distance from the government. Therefore, it was able to take an independent position. In his opinion, it was also important that different economic views were represented within the Council and published in the annual Council’s report. Wieland pointed out that the Council had already in the past released a number of shorter statements in addition to its report. Also, the report contained a lot of analyses and practical recommendations that the media had only partly taken up. These offered material for further statements.
Link to the interview (German)