ECB chief urges quick action on European bailout fund

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has urged politicians to move fast to make the European bailout fund operational, as any delay world end up increasing the  the cost.

Draghi said in an interview with Financial Times that the ECB could not start printing money, adding that countries leaving the euro would be worse off and would still need to undertake the same reforms.

He added there was no long-term trade-off between growth and austerity and to ensure confidence returned to the euro zone, hit by a debt crisis engulfing several countries, there was a need "to have a firewall in place which is fully equipped and operational. And that was meant to be provided by the EFSF.''

"If one can show its usefulness in its present size, the argument for its enlargement would be much stronger," he said.

According to Draghi, who in November became the third ECB president in its 12-year history, the longer it took to put together a firewall to stop market contagion, the more expensive it got.

"The delay in making the EFSF operational has increased the resources necessary to stabilising markets," he said.