The new Irish presidency of the European Union said on Wednesday the exchange rate of the euro, which has been soaring against the dollar, was in the hands of financial markets.
"The least said, the better," the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, who will chair euro zone and EU finance ministers meetings for six months, told a news conference.
"It's the market that decides the rate," he added.
Mr McCreevy also stood by last year's decisions by EU states to waive the bloc's budget rules for France and Germany.
"The events of November 24th have strengthened the Stability Pact," McCreevy told a news conference, referring to the finance ministers' meeting where the budget decision was made. Ireland has just assumed the presidency of the EU and Mr McCreevy will chair future meetings of euro zone and EU finance ministers.
Mr McCreevy said it was up to the European Commission, which was angered by the ministers decision, to mount a legal challenge if it saw fit. But the legal service of the Council of EU states had backed the ministers' decision, he added.
He also saw little appetite now among finance ministers for a wide-ranging overhaul of the Stability and Growth Pact, which sets the budget rules.