European Parliament plenary debate on ECB annual report

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), delivered a speech at the plenary session of the European Parliament regarding the ECB’s Annual Report.

She emphasized that the ECB’s independence is essential for maintaining price stability and highlighted the importance of accountability through regular hearings, written exchanges, and the Annual Report.

Lagarde discussed the current global environment marked by geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty, affecting trade, energy security, and supply chains. She noted that despite these challenges, the euro area economy has shown resilience, with growth of 0.3% in Q4 2025 and an expected inflation rate stabilizing around 2% in the medium term.

The ECB’s monetary policy remains data-dependent, with interest rates unchanged at the latest meeting, aiming for inflation stabilization.

She outlined efforts to strengthen Europe’s resilience and competitiveness, including the development of a digital euro, which will offer privacy, offline payments, and reduce merchant fees. The digital euro will be built on a European infrastructure to reduce dependency on foreign providers.

Lagarde also discussed initiatives for tokenized central bank money, including Project Pontes for wholesale transactions and Project Appia for a European digital assets market, both aiming to enhance resilience and integration.

The speech covered the ECB’s role in simplifying regulatory frameworks through the High-Level Task Force on Simplification, and emphasized the importance of advancing the savings and investments union, deepening capital markets, and strengthening the Single Market.

She concluded by reaffirming the ECB’s commitment to price stability and fostering a stronger Europe, highlighting Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area as a sign of European integration’s success. Lagarde stressed the importance of dialogue between the ECB, elected representatives, and EU citizens to build a resilient Europe.