SPEECH Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament Brussels, 22 June 2026 It is a pleasure to…
turn to this Committee for our regular dialogue. When we last met in February, inflation had remained close to the ECB’s 2% target for over a year, and euro area economic activity was showing solid growth momentum
Only a few days later, war broke out in the Middle East, reminding us how quickly external shocks can reshape the economic outlook. The topic you have chosen for today’s exchange – how monetary policy should be conducted in an environment of heightened geopolitical tensions and frequent supply shocks – is therefore particularly timely. In my remarks, I will first review what the incoming data tell us about the euro area economy and outline our latest monetary policy decisions.
I will then explain in more detail how our monetary policy strategy is guiding us in responding to shocks such as the one we face today. The outlook for the euro area economy The euro area economy was gaining some traction when the war in the Middle East broke out. Real GDP rose by 0.3%, quarter on quarter, in the first quarter of 2026, once adjusted for exceptional volatility in Ireland.