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ECB’s Rehn: Risks to Growth to the Downside, Recent Data Reinforces Sluggish Outlook

4 November 2025

ECB’s Rehn: Risks to Growth to the Downside, Recent Data Reinforces Sluggish Outlook
Olli Rehn, governor of the Bank of Finland, and Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, at the ECB Governing Council meeting in Florence, Italy on October 30, 2025. Photo by the ECB under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Tuesday that risks to economic growth remained skewed to the downside, with recent data confirming a persistently weak outlook.

Speaking at a public hearing in the Finnish parliament, Rehn, who heads the Bank of Finland, said that despite uncertainty having declined from peak levels, it was still “elevated and risks are tilted to the downside.”

Prolonged uncertainty, trade tensions, and labor disruptions could further weigh on growth, Rehn warned. He also cited high public debt, potential vulnerabilities in financial markets, and institutional weaknesses as additional threats to economic stability.

“Data from September-October reinforce the outlook for sluggish growth in the euro area,” he said.

He added that growth in the third quarter had been stronger than anticipated, supported by robust household purchasing power, a resilient labor market, and, to some extent, increased defense spending.

 

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