Draghi welcomes Franco-German proposal on euro zone budget

SINTRA, Portugal (Reuters) - A Franco-German proposal to deepen the monetary union through a euro zone budget is an encouraging step and should be welcomed, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

"The recent document produced by France and Germany is to be welcomed," Draghi told a central banking conference. "It's an encouraging step in this direction (of deepening the monetary union)"

"It's made important by the very difficult political circumstances in which document was produced ... it's the first time we're having a proposal by governments," Draghi added.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans)