(Image Source: BBC)

BY EMOKE BEBIAK

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

A dose of fiscal sobriety? Or -- a hint at a central bank bailout? It depends on how you hear the message from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. The New York Times reports...

“Mr. Draghi stopped well short of offering a European version of the massive securities purchases that the Federal Reserve has used to try to stimulate the U.S. economy... Mr. Draghi said that after government leaders take steps to improve the way the euro area is managed, ‘other elements might follow.’ He was not more specific.”

In his speech, Draghi also warned European countries of increasing “downside risks.” Euronews reports...

“Mario Draghi was speaking as various euro zone countries had been finding it increasingly difficult to borrow money by selling bonds. The ECB has been buying bonds, but Draghi warned it cannot continue that forever.”

The remarks led the European markets to stumble on Thursday after they had spiked on Wednesday. The Financial Times explains the steps the ECB might take besides cutting interest rates...

“[S]ome ECB council members may prefer to […] focus attention on a significant expansion of ECB help for the eurozone’s distressed banking system. On the agenda will be the introduction of loans lasting as long as three years as well as a broadening of the pool of assets that banks can use as collateral to obtain ECB liquidity.”

The possibility of a major bailout is a significant shift in ECB’s policy. The bank had rejected calls for help with the European debt crisis.

But according to BBC News, Draghi called for European governments to take action, and come up with better policies...

“What I believe our economic and monetary union needs is a new fiscal compact, a fundamental restatement of the fiscal rules together with the mutual fiscal commitments that euro area governments have made.”

A blogger for TIME agrees, saying so far, the actions of European governments won’t solve the debt problem.

“The euro can't survive on austerity alone.... Most of all, austerity is one reason why growth is either weak or nonexistent in the indebted euro zone countries, and without growth, the crisis will be much harder to solve.”