ECB’s Escrivá: Inflation Target Reached, Growth Still “Lackluster”

12 September 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá said on Friday that the inflation target had now been reached but described European growth as “lackluster”.

In an interview with Spanish radio RNE, Escrivá, who heads the Banco de España, said that “under the current conditions inflation will remain around 2% over the next year and a half, therefore we are already at target.”

The ECB’s projections show euro area growth slightly above 1% in the coming years, a pace Escrivá described as “low.”

“Europe faces a structural competitiveness problem, and growth is rather lackluster,” he said.

Escrivá noted that the ECB remained “concerned” about trade tensions, though he acknowledged that the recent U.S.-EU agreement had reduced some uncertainty.

“In incoming data there is hardly any negative impact” from tariffs, he added.

However, US policies “cannot be good for the global economy” in the medium term, according to Escrivá.

Turning to fiscal policy, Escrivá cautioned that France’s budgetary challenges could affect the entire euro area via financial markets.

“That is why we must tell France: please meet your fiscal targets. This is going to affect all of us, not just France,” he said.