Addressing the Plenary Session in Strasbourg I have confirmed the support of the European Parliament for the monetary policy implemented up to the present day by the European Central Bank. I have nonetheless highlighted what I had already expressed last week during the hearing of President Lagarde in the ECON Committee: it is time for brave and innovative choices.
Climate change, digitalization and inequality will have a strong impact on the lives of people, on companies and on financial institutions. The ECB certainly has the capacity and resources to find new solutions to these great challenges. We are ready to do our part.
Below is the speech and video of my remarks on the ECB monetary policy and the new challenges ahead.
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Mr. President –
With this report, the European Parliament expresses its support for ECB’s monetary policy, recognizing that the measures implemented are consistent with its mandate and have been decisive in preserving the Euro area from deflation and in contributing to the ongoing economic recovery.
I challenge anyone to prove we’d been better off today if it had adopted different policies.
But many of the challenges we face are new and require further innovation in the way monetary policy is conducted. Climate change, digitalization and economic inequality will have a significant structural impact on the way the economy works.
They will affect key economic variables, financial stability and the effectiveness of monetary policy.
To fulfil its mandate of delivering price stability the ECB shall understand better how the changing climate, technological innovation and economic inequalities will affect the behaviour of households, firms and financial institutions.
The ECB has the analytical capacity and resources to push the frontier of knowledge on this issue, and we are keen to play our part.
