By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Thursday that the US government's attacks on the Federal Reserved increased risks to the outlook as lower central bank independence would likely raise inflation in the US.
15 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta said on Thursday that Italy’s economic growth had softened in recent months, driven mainly by geopolitical and trade tensions alongside weak domestic demand, adding that forecasts pointed to only a modest expansion in the years ahead.
15 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Thursday that financial markets place high value on central bank independence because it underpins confidence that inflation will remain under control.
15 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Following Wednesday's hearings at the European Parliament in Brussels with all candidates hoping to succeed European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos, Aurore Lalucq, Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, issued the following statement:
14 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that the downside risks to inflation were “at least as high” as the upside risks and that a further slide in the US dollar if the Federal Reserve’s independence were weakened, could be one such disinflationary risk.
14 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks on Wednesday said the ECB has fulfilled its mandate and could be more confident, but stressed that policymakers are not complacent about inflation.
14 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Wednesday that the ECB was seeing a growing influx of low-priced goods into Europe and that China had been increasing its exports to the bloc.
14 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Wednesday that rising geopolitical tensions significantly increased downside risks to economic growth and that wage growth was expected to moderate in the coming quarters and stabilize toward the end of 2026.
14 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Estonian Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi’s endorsement of Eesti Pank Governor Madis Müller as having a “very good track record” is less an attempt to declare victory than a window into a contest that remains unusually fluid.
14 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – With six candidacies to succeed European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos now formally established following the close of nominations last Friday, the appointment process is moving into its next phase.
14 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Over two days, the European Central Bank’s Governing Council offered a small but telling communications split: two senior national central bank governors drifted into calendar-based reassurance about rate hikes, while their colleague, Austrian National Bank Governor Martin Kocher, reaffirmed the ECB’s doctrine of optionality.
13 January 2026
By David Barwick – VIENNA (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher on Tuesday expressed concern about the apparent use of legal pretexts by the US government to go after the Federal Reserve over what actually amounted to disagreement about monetary policy.
13 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde joined other leading central bankers on Tuesday in signing a joint declaration backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, following threats by the US government to pursue a criminal indictment against him.
13 January 2026
By David Barwick – VIENNA (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on Tuesday with Estonian Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi on the margins of the Central & Eastern European Forum.
13 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller said on Monday that any future interest rate increases would be a matter for the coming years rather than the next few months or quarters.
12 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Monday that markets may be overpricing the economic impact of artificial intelligence, warning that unmet expectations about what AI will ultimately deliver could pose a risk to growth via weaker business investment.
12 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Monday argued that ECB interest rates were unlikely to rise in 2026 absent an “unlikely shock,” saying inflation had returned to target.
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By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – The tone of the ECB’s Governing Council, as reflected in the ECB Tone Meter , has shifted modestly more hawkish since the 18 December 2025 monetary policy meeting.
9 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Friday that the appropriate monetary policy response to inflation deviations must be assessed case by case, arguing that fixed, all-purpose rules would not be helpful.
9 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Dimitar Radev said on Friday that the current level of interest rates remained appropriate and that there was no reason to expect significant adjustments.
9 January 2026