ECB’s Lagarde: Europe Can Seize Opportunity from Changes in Global Economy

16 October 2024

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that Europe should embrace changes in the global economy, as these could represent an opportunity if met correctly.

In a speech at the official dinner of Banka Slovenije preceding the ECB Governing Council's monetary policy meeting in Ljubljana, Lagarde said that the Slovenian response to increased competition after joining the EU could set an example for Europe.

‘For Europe, the changes in the global economy today represent a similar turning point. But if we approach it with the right spirit, I believe it can be an opportunity for renewal’, she said.

Europe could feel compelled to fully develop its common market if the global economy turned out to be less beneficial to the EU, according to Lagarde.

‘Fiercer foreign competition can encourage us to develop new technologies. More volatile geopolitics can drive us to become more energy secure and self-sufficient in our supply chains’, she said.