The European Central Bank’s chief economist has warned against rising populism and said that governments must focus on economic growth and push through structural reforms.

Peter Praet, a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) executive board, made the comments in an interview with the German financial newspaper Börsen-Zeitung published Wednesday. The interview was made available on the ECB’s website.

Click Here: camiseta river plate

“The rise of populism should be a wake-up call,” Praet said. “The governments have to give priority to difficult political decisions and follow through with the much-needed reforms.”

Praet dismissed the idea that some countries could leave the euro area in the coming years.

“Populist parties in some countries promise quick solutions—but they offer only recipes for disaster. Nobody should be under the illusion that you only need to return to the old system and everything will be better,” the economist said. “All these countries have had their reasons for joining the euro area: the old system of constant devaluation was not working. What is needed now is to make the much needed structural adjustments.”

Thought Praet said that his organization isn’t worried about a new recession, he said that a concern was that “businesses and households are reducing their long-term growth expectations.” He added that “urgent action is necessary… on the fiscal, structural and monetary policy side.”

Among those who have criticized the growth-focused economy and its wide-ranging impacts is Naomi Klein, whose latest book is This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. the Climate.