Merkel defends ECB after bond-buying program announced

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the European Central Bank as independent and strong today following an uproar in Germany over the ECB's new bond-buying program for struggling euro zone members.

"The ECB is an independent and very strong institution," she told reporters when asked her opinion of the ECB plan during a trip to Vienna. She emphasized that help for struggling euro zone members would not come without strings attached.

"Conditionality is a very important point. Control and help, or control and conditions, go hand in hand," she said.