‘Money union is not enough’: ECB President calls for more steps towards agreement

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“One monetary union is not enough – it is important to continue the unification process,” Lagarde said at the opening of a ceremony at the European Central Bank building in Frankfurt on Wednesday evening. The Union should be multifaceted, covering finance, finance and banking in a spirit of greater integration, particularly if the euro is to consolidate its status as an international currency.

The ECB started its work on 1 June 1998. Seven months later, on 1 January 1999, the euro era began for 11 of the then 15 member states of the European Union. Today, the common currency is the official means of payment for more than 346 million people in 20 countries of the European Union.

According to Lagarde, the euro brought “stability, sovereignty and solidarity” to Europeans. “Thanks to our single monetary policy, the ECB was able to respond quickly and decisively to any shock.” Now it is “time to write the next chapter in euro history”.

The primary goal of the ECB is a stable euro. The central bank believes that with an inflation rate of 2 percent in the euro area, price stability is guaranteed in the medium term. Since this sign has been miles away for months, monetary watchers have responded with a series of rate hikes since the summer of 2022.

Higher interest rates can make loans more expensive, reducing demand and offsetting higher inflation rates. On Wednesday evening, Lagarde reiterated that the ECB will do the job of bringing inflation back to its 2% target in the “near future”.

(SDA)

Source :Blick