ECB's Nowotny says euro zone policy may need to become expansive

Austrian National Bank Governor Ewald Nowotny presents the bank's 2015-2017 economic forecast for Austria during a news conference in Vienna, June 8, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader·Reuters

WARSAW (Reuters) - The euro zone needs additional measures, possibly looser fiscal policy, to secure economic growth, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said in an interview published on Monday.

"This applies to structural reforms and fiscal policy," he said in an interview with Poland's Rzeczpospolita.

Asked if he was suggesting that the euro zone's fiscal policy should be more expansive, he said: "For a considerable time it was restrictive. Now it could be described as neutral, but there may be a need for it to become expansive."

(Reporting by Wiktor Szary; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)

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