The European Central Bank's new bond-purchase programme will not lead to inflation or compromise the bank's independence, ECB President Mario Draghi told German parliamentarians.
In prepared remarks for delivery at the beginning of his meeting, Draghi addressed point by point their concerns about the programme, known as Outright Monetary Transactions.
"OMTs will not lead to disguised financing of governments. OMTs will not compromise the independence of the ECB," he said in a statement.
"OMTs will not create excessive risks for euro area taxpayers," he added. "OMTs will not lead to inflation."
Instead, he said interventions under the programme "are designed to send a clear signal to investors that their fears about the euro area are baseless."
The ECB has yet to buy any bonds through the programme, which was announced in September.
The scheme has faced fierce opposition from the head of the German central bank Jens Weidmann.
He argued that the policy was tantamount to printing money in order to pay off a country's debt, which is expressly forbidden by the ECB's mandate.
He also expressed fears that the measures would fuel inflation.
