The European Central Bank (ECB) is urging the governments of member countries to step up self-rescue efforts against the euro zone fiscal crisis.

In response to investors’ growing calls for the bank’s greater role in resolving the crisis, ECB President Mario Draghi recently warned that there is no “external savior” for the heavily indebted countries in the region.

Investors have been demanding that the ECB more actively purchase bonds of at risk countries, such as Italy, as European leaders agreed in the recent EU Summit to strictly manage the state finances of euro zone nations.

But the ECB has only purchased a limited amount of European state bonds, sending signals that European countries should not rely on the bank.