ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a speech, “the coronavirus is a double economic shock”. Its effect “hit activity extremely hard” but it has also “accelerated structural changes that will transform our lifestyles and our economies.”
“According to some estimates, the pandemic has brought forward the digital transition in Europe by seven years,” she added. 20% of work hours will move “permanently from office to home”, leading to “new patterns of demand and new ways of living”.
She noted that “the pandemic is still weighing heavily on our economies” and “we are not out of the woods yet”. But “with the tremendous progress made on vaccine technology, we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel”.
Still, “I can assure you that the ECB will continue to play its part, as we have done since the first days of the crisis,” she concluded.
