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ECB's Draghi has been "overinterpreted", says Germany's Schaeuble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble talks to journalists after talks with his French counterpart Michel Sapin (not pictured) in Berlin July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a newspaper on Wednesday that European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi had been "overinterpreted" after suggesting that fiscal policy could play a greater role in promoting growth.

The comments, made last Friday have been widely seen as a shift of emphasis towards support for greater fiscal stimulus over austerity.

"I know Mario Draghi very well, I think he is being overinterpreted," Schaeuble told the Passauer Neue Presse in an interview, adding he respected the independence of the central banker.

Schaeuble also said he wasn't pleased about comments made by France's former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg on Germany's "obsession" with austerity but that this was a domestic debate in France and consequences had been drawn. French President Francois Hollande ejected Montebourg from his cabinet earlier this week.


(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Noah Barkin)