German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has urged lawmakers to take a tough stance with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi when he goes before legislators in the lower house of parliament next week, Bild reported.

Schaeuble told lawmakers in the Bundestag to push Draghi to defend the central bank’s low interest rates when he speaks to them on Sept. 28, the newspaper reported, citing those who were present at the meeting. Schaeuble expressed irritation at Draghi’s criticism of Germany’s trade surplus, saying it’s the ECB that’s at fault, according to Bild.

The German minister has criticized the ECB’s extraordinary monetary measures under Draghi, saying low rates have squeezed savings for Germans and created excessive liquidity in markets.

David Fuller's view

The vision of a Federal Europe is going up in smoke because Germany has no interest in using its trade surplus to bailout ailing EU nations which cannot live with the Euro.