By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Portugal is expected to formally nominate former ECB Governing Council member and ex-Eurogroup President Mário Centeno to succeed ECB President Luis de Guindos on Friday, after Centeno announced his candidacy late Thursday, sharpening a contest that has become unusually crowded ahead of the Eurogroup’s January 9 nomination deadline.
9 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream with former European Central Bank Governing Council member Mário Centeno. The interview focused exclusively on the matter at hand—Centeno's announcement on Thursday of his candidacy to succeed ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos, whose term ends on 31 May 2026—and did not delve into any aspect of current ECB policy:
9 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Thursday that the current level of interest rates is appropriate, adding that unexpected developments were taking place and the ECB’s monetary policy stance would adjust should circumstances change enough to warrant it.
8 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Álvaro Santos Pereira said on Wednesday that the ECB expected inflation to remain close to the 2% target and that there was no need to adjust monetary policy as long as this remained the case .
7 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Slovenia’s President Nataša Pirc Musar on Wednesday nominated Banka Slovenije Deputy Governor Primož Dolenc to become governor of the central bank, a post that carries a seat on the European Central Bank’s Governing Council.
7 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The Lithuanian Finance Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that it was putting forward three-time finance minister Rimantas Šadžius as a candidate to succeed European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos, corroborating Econostream’s reporting from 18 December.
6 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller on Tuesday signaled strong interest in becoming the next ECB vice president, arguing that his experience and timeline aligned well with the role.
6 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Tuesday said two “major upheavals” — tokenization and geopolitics — are reshaping the international monetary landscape, with implications for monetary policy and financial stability.
6 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank emphasizes that the monthly rotation of Governing Council voting rights does not silence anyone: all governors still attend and have the right to speak, and most decisions are reached by consensus. A recent empirical study of the ECB’s rotation model is broadly consistent with that claim, finding only rare cases in which rotation appears likely to have determined outcomes.
6 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Álvaro Santos Pereira said on Tuesday that the Portuguese economy had shown resilience and that inflation in the country was expected to converge towards 2% within the projection horizon.
6 January 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday welcomed Bulgaria as the euro area’s newest member, noting that the area was facing an uncertain geopolitical situation.
1 January 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) - France’s Agence France Trésor has mapped out a hefty €310 billion funding plan for 2026, a total that sets the tone for sovereign bond markets as investors brace for continued supply across the yield curve, the agency announced on Tuesday.
30 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – As the European Central Bank’s Governing Council wonders how long its current “good place” will last and to what policy move it will ultimately give way, it also faces another year of above-average turnover.
29 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Monday said the ECB’s current interest rate stance was appropriate and did not exclude that the next move could be a hike as Eurozone inflation nears 2%.
29 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Sunday said that interest rates would remain appropriate as they now stand unless a major shock occurred.
28 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank must remain in an attitude of readiness to adjust its interest rates either up or down as circumstances require, according to ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Tuesday.
23 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday said that the ECB interest rates were probably facing a long hold, absent an unexpected development.
22 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday said that the ECB was content with the inflation situation at the moment.
22 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday said that the job of ECB president would be attractive to anyone.
22 December 2025
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – With Friday’s confirmation of Estonia’s intention to back European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller, there are now six named candidates to succeed ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos when his terms ends on May 31, 2026.
22 December 2025