Portugal’s problems today are the result of a lack of discipline that was required to belong to a monetary union, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Carlos Costa said.

In the past, Portugal used to resolve its difficulties by resorting to “escape valves” such as inflation and the budget, Costa, who also heads the Bank of Portugal, said today at a conference in Lisbon.

“We weren’t able to integrate in our behavior the discipline that is proper of a monetary union.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Henrique Almeida in Lisbon at halmeida5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerrold Colten at jcolten@bloomberg.net