Draghi pushes for European banking union, says EU is more stable in 2013

European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said that more involvement from the euro area was the solution to resolving the debt crisis, calling on governments to take steps to improve their own finances, according to his speech in london on Thursday.

In his speech at a gala dinner in London yesterday, the head of European Central Bank Mario Draghi, has urged governments to push on with reforms and banking union plans, while he added that the euro area is more stable than a year ago, yet challenges remain.

"The crisis that we are facing today is much more multi-faceted and that means that the policy response must also be much more multi-faceted and must involve a variety of institutions," Draghi said.

While regarding talks over a potential U.K. referendum on membership of the European Union (EU), ECB’s Draghi said there was a need for mutual cooperation and said that people should keep in mind the "depth of the interconnection" between the U.K. and Europe.

"What I can say is that Europe needs a more European U.K. as much as the U.K. needs a more British Europe," Draghi added.

U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised to renegotiate its role within the EU and hold a referendum on membership before the end of 2017, should his Conservative Party win the next general election.

Furthermore, Draghi hailed efforts made by the governments of Europe’s weaker economies where he pointed that Ireland, Spain and Portugal had made "impressive" improvements in their export performances.

Draghi also said that his pledge to buy government bonds is ensuring that interest-rate cuts reach the parts of the euro-area economy that need them the most.