ECB’s Villeroy: ‘Not Time for Autopilot’, but Rather for ‘Precise Instrument Piloting’

7 March 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday that the ECB should avoid being on ‘autopilot’ and that more precision was needed in the decision-making process.

In an interview with French Radio Classique, Villeroy, who heads the Banque de France, said that ‘when the weather is choppy, it's not time for autopilot, it's time for precise instrument piloting.’

The ECB will keep being dependent on data and decide on a meeting-by-meeting basis, he said.

‘[Y]ou have to be ready to act and react quickly, as we've done since last June’, he said.

Inflation standing at 2.4% in the Eurozone and 0.9% in France was ‘very good news and it allows for the reduction of rates, which is another piece of good news’, he said.

However, he indicated that the Governing Council had noted the current high level of uncertainty.

‘When the weather becomes more agitated like today, you must first keep a very clear course’, he added.