ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a speech that the “high inflation environment” is a big challenge facing Europe. And, that’s “the challenge that concerns me the most”.
“We must bring inflation down. And we will deliver on this goal,” she emphasized. “We have made it clear that ECB interest rates will still have to rise significantly at a steady pace to reach levels that are sufficiently restrictive, and stay at those levels for as long as necessary.”
“In other words, we will stay the course to ensure the timely return of inflation to our target.”
Another challenge Lagarde named is to “best protect Europe’s critical interests… as the next chapter in the globalisation story is being written”. Europe must be “prepared for a future in which the global economy could fragment”, and “develop more our own sources of growth.”
