By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta on Thursday said artificial intelligence had the potential to lift productivity and growth in Italy, but would require greater investment and a financial system capable of supporting innovation.
2 July 2026
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – The Bank of Italy’s €-coin indicator, a measure of underlying Eurozone economic growth, declined to 0.39 in June from 0.45 in May, according to a joint release by the Bank of Italy and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) on Thursday.
2 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth in the euro area had become “more broadly balanced” in recent weeks.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Boris Vujčić on Wednesday indicated that preliminary June euro area inflation data were not too far from expectations and that the ECB was not foreclosing on any of its policy options ahead of the July meeting.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks on Wednesday said the urgency of consecutive interest rate increases had decreased significantly and that the ECB did not currently need to respond forcefully to inflation.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Wednesday said July and September remained open for possible further policy action, citing uncertainty about whether the recent decline in energy prices would prove sustainable.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher on Wednesday said the ECB’s coming meetings would likely be about whether to leave monetary policy unchanged or raise interest rates further.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s June rate hike was necessary even if a milder inflation scenario now materializes, but the Governing Council is not pre-committed to any future path, ECB Governing Council member Martin Kocher said Wednesday.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Wednesday that the ECB was under no pressure to act urgently or deliver repeated interest rate hikes in the current environment.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal – European Central Bank Governing Council member Alexander Demarco said on Wednesday that policymakers should not rush into further monetary tightening, citing the sharp decline in oil prices.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – Following is a transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 30 June 2026 with Pierre Wunsch, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – Arguments supporting additional monetary policy tightening in the euro area are visibly fading, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn on Tuesday declined to say whether he would support another rate hike in July, saying the ECB should not “jump the gun” and that inflation expectations remained anchored.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc on Tuesday said there was no urgency for the ECB to consider further policy tightening if energy prices remained subdued.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen said Tuesday that the ECB had yet to learn how much inflationary pressure might still be on its way.
30 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said on Tuesday that the ECB should move quickly if policymakers conclude another interest rate increase is needed, adding that this did not imply a move in July.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Tuesday said that euro area inflation would remain high for the moment, but he declined to endorse the need for more monetary policy tightening.
30 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday that second-round inflation effects would “probably take some time” to materialize, meaning the ECB should first focus on indirect effects and how recent energy price increases feed through into food and services inflation.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s opening speech in Sintra was dovish, but not because she questioned the Governing Council’s June 11 rate hike – that she did not.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc said Tuesday that a more benign energy price environment could ease pressure on the ECB to raise interest rates again and allow policymakers to wait until September before deciding on the appropriate policy stance.
30 June 2026