Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), participates in a Monetary Dialogue with the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) to present a monetary policy report and respond to questions from Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). This marks her first appearance following the recent European elections. The meeting focuses on two key topics: the ECB's continued monetary policy easing, following its second consecutive rate cut, and the Capital Markets Union and its significance for monetary policy. While the ECB operates with guaranteed independence under the Treaty, it remains accountable to the European Parliament, particularly to the ECON Committee.

Brussels

statement

debate

European Central Bank

monetary dialogue with the ECB (T)

LAGARDE, Christine (FR)

Monetary Dialogue with Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank (ECB): extracts - ECON Committee

External shot of the European Parliament in Brussels

Arrival of Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank (5 shots)

Welcome to Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank in the ECON Committee (2 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank, The labour market remains resilient, with unemployment rate standing at 6.4% in July, latest rate that we have, unchanged from past year. Little lower, but it's a matter of the really. At the same time, employment growth slowed to just 0.2% in the second quarter, but still growth. Recent indicators point to a further deceleration in the coming quarters.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank, Turning now to price developments, disinflation has been accelerating over the last two months. Headline inflation fell to 2.2% in August and is expected to drop further in September, mainly on account of falling energy costs. We have seen already some numbers coming down for France, for Spain, for Italy and more recently for Germany today. And that confirms this point. Core inflation taking energy and food out edged down to 2.8% in August, driven by a decline in goods inflation that outweighed an increase in services inflation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank, Looking ahead, inflation might temporarily increase in the fourth quarter of this year as previous sharp falls in energy prices dropped out of the annual rates. But the latest developments strengthen our confidence that inflation will return to target in a timely manner. We will take that into account in our next monetary policy meeting in October.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank, The EU must come together and address its structural challenges to increase its competitiveness. Advancing the Capital Markets Union is an important part of this agenda, but not the only one. Significant efforts to boost Europe's economic resilience and decarbonise the economy will also be needed. This will require substantial investment in the coming years, which needs to come from both private and public sources. Progress in these areas will not only enhance Europe's ability to withstand future economic shocks, but also help the ECB to maintain price stability.

Questions and answers by MEPs to Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank (5 shots)

Cutaways of the Monetary Dialogue with Christine LAGARDE, President of the European Central Bank (5 shots)