ECB

A recent survey suggested ECB employees did not like Christine Lagarde very much (Photo: European Central Bank)

THIS WEEK: ECB set to hike rates, as capital markets union and climate top the EU agenda

8 June 2026 by Elena Sánchez Nicolás

This week, the European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates amid inflation and energy-price pressures. EU finance ministers will discuss capital markets integration and energy investment rules. The EU Commission will present the 2027 EU budget, while climate talks, transport and telecom meetings, and an EU–South Korea summit also take place.

Christine Lagarde: EU not lagging in productivity gains (Photo: Council of the EU)

ECB stuck between a rock (inflation) and a hard place (low growth)

30 April 2026 by Wester van Gaal

The bank’s governing council opted against raising borrowing costs despite inflation because of low growth and low wage growth.

ECB

Dollar stablecoins versus a retail digital euro? They are different – not rivals

7 April 2026 by Judith Arnal

When Meta announced its Libra/Diem project in 2019, central banks worldwide were confronted with an uncomfortable question: could a private technology corporation issue money at global scale and thereby erode their monopoly over monetary control?
The response was swift. What began as a defensive reflex had become a genuine policy agenda.

EUobserver

THIS WEEK: ECB set to hike rates, as capital markets union and climate top the EU agenda

ECB stuck between a rock (inflation) and a hard place (low growth)

Dollar stablecoins versus a retail digital euro? They are different – not rivals

War and oil shock push Europe’s inflation higher, reigniting rate debate

What the 2022 energy crisis taught us about inflation — and why it matters now with Iran

EU not ‘lagging’ US in AI-productivity gains, Lagarde tells MEPs