Jens Weidmann, chairman of the German Central Bank (Bundesbank), is pictured in front of the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany | Arne Depert/AFP/Getty Images Bundesbank chief: Macron’s policies won’t fix Europe’s problems French president is an ‘important friend and partner’ but doesn’t deserve any ‘gifts,’ says Jens Weidmann.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron's plans to pool eurozone resources would make the bloc's problems worse instead of solving them, said German Central Bank chief Jens Weidmann.

Macron was elected in May on a platform that called for the creation of a joint eurozone budget and finance minister.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave conditional backing to both ideas earlier this week, saying she was "open" to ideas that "really strengthen things."

But Weidmann, whose inflation-averse Bundesbank has long opposed any pooling of resources in the eurozone, poured cold water on the proposals.

Linking "joint liability with far-reaching reaching national sovereignty would be the wrong approach," the central bank chief told German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag. "This would deepen the problems in Europe rather than solve them."

Calling Macron an "important friend and partner," Weidmann said there was nevertheless no need to welcome the new French president with "gifts" — such as endorsing the common eurozone budget, which German monetary conservatives oppose.

"When it comes to building a pan-European digital infrastructure or the energy grid spanning the Continent, a joint planning and implementation can certainly be a good thing," Weidmann said.

But, he added: "The idea that you need a separate budget for this, I do not think is mandatory. I don't see any reason why Italy should co-finance bridges in Germany, or why Portugal should fund sections of the German motorway or vice versa."

Merkel, who has consistently opposed plans to pool eurozone resources, is taking steps toward Macron as she campaigns for reelection in federal elections due in September. The chancellor is seen cruising toward her fourth term.

But Merkel is still not endorsing eurobonds — the idea by which eurozone states would issue debt in common and be liable for each other's creditworthiness. Eurozone member states should avoid pooling debt and risks "in the wrong places," she said on Tuesday.

Macron won support for his ideas from several EU officials earlier this week when he made his debut appearance at his first European Council summit as French president.

But he also met resistance to his calls for deeper integration between eurozone countries, with central and eastern European countries telling him they did not want to be sidelined in any reform plans.