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ECB’s Nagel Says Eurozone Inflation Near 2%, Governing Council to Decide “From Meeting to Meeting”

24 November 2025

ECB’s Nagel Says Eurozone Inflation Near 2%, Governing Council to Decide “From Meeting to Meeting”
Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, at the Euro20+ Town Hall in Frankfurt on November 30, 2023. Photo by Felix Schmitt/ECB under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Monday said euro area inflation had settled close to 2% and that policymakers would continue taking decisions “flexibly from meeting to meeting” as new data become available.

Speaking at the “Frankfurter Impulse” event hosted by commercial law firm FPS, Nagel, who heads the Deutsche Bundesbank, said the ECB would gain clearer insight in December when fresh projections, including the first forecasts for 2028, are published.

He cautioned that some “after-effects of the inflation wave” were still visible, pointing to stubborn food and services price pressures.

According to Nagel, supermarket inflation remained particularly evident to households, with the ECB recently noting that putting a meal on the table costs roughly one-third more than before the pandemic.

Nagel said the global environment had shifted markedly, with rising geopolitical tensions, U.S. tariff policy and increasing uncertainty weighing on Europe and Germany. The euro’s appreciation had further eroded price competitiveness, he noted.

Germany’s economy, which stagnated in the third quarter, needs to regain lost competitiveness, foster innovation and ensure an adequate labor supply, he said. Higher public investment should be paired with reforms that strengthen the country’s long-term prospects, he argued.

Europe, he said, must push forward structural reforms and integration, adding that significant barriers remain in the Single Market, particularly in services, and that the region still lacks a unified energy market.

Nagel reiterated calls to advance the Savings and Investments Union, aimed at channeling Europe’s high household savings into productive investment and innovative firms.

He also highlighted the risks posed by the growing presence of U.S. dollar-based stablecoins in Europe’s payments landscape and said a digital euro, once given legal authorization, could enhance European autonomy. If legislation is enacted in 2026, the Eurosystem should be able to introduce the digital euro in 2029, he said.

Central bank independence remains a “valuable asset,” he said, drawing on historical experience to argue that political pressure on monetary authorities leads to excessive inflation and a loss of confidence.

The ECB must maintain a clear mandate and a forward-looking approach, including assessing climate-related risks relevant to price and financial stability, he said.

Nagel concluded that Europe must strengthen productivity, boost competitiveness and enhance sovereignty in order to succeed in a fragmented world, calling for deeper integration, a stronger Single Market and progress toward a digital euro.