Meeting on Thursday 26 February for their first quarterly monetary dialogue of 2026 with the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, the MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) focused their discussions on the trajectory of monetary policy in the euro area, in the context of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Ms Lagarde felt that inflation had been brought under control thanks to a “decisive” response from the ECB (see EUROPE 13802/21), although she acknowledged that there was still a gap between household perceptions and actual price trends, which could affect economic decisions and confidence in institutions. The President reiterated that the Frankfurt institute would not commit to any specific interest rate path, reaffirming its data-dependent approach.
The MEPs questioned the President on the potential effects of US fiscal and monetary policies and the weakness of the dollar on inflation in the euro area, as well as on the possible interactions between the policies of the US Federal Reserve and the ECB. The impact of artificial intelligence on price dynamics and the translation of geopolitical shocks into monetary decisions were also discussed.
Discussions also focused on the state of progress of the digital euro project, in particular the infrastructure still required and distribution methods, as well as the interpretation of public support.
Lastly, questions were raised about growth divergences within the EU, the inclusion of housing in inflation, the effects of trade agreements such as the one with Mercosur, and the levers for community integration of markets to reduce fragmentation. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)