Draghi warns of costs of European breakup (by Barbara Kollmeyer)

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has warned that struggling euro-zone countries that leave the euro bloc would still face great economic difficulties afterwards. In an interview with the Financial Times, his first since becoming president in November, Draghi talked about potential fallout from a breakup, a topic that his predecessor, Jean-Claude Trichet, was never willing to discuss. Countries leaving the bloc and devaluing their currency would create "a big inflation" and still need to adhere to structural reforms, "but in a much weaker position," Draghi said. He also sought to play down the ECB's role in tackling the debt crisis, saying the region's leaders have to take the lead by ensuring fiscal discipline and making the European Financial Stability Facility fully operational.