"The impact of the Coronavirus is still felt in the euro area, businesses are struggling, people are losing their jobs, the prospects for the future remain uncertain", and "the recovery remains uncertain, incomplete and unbalanced": the president said. ECB Christine Lagarde speaking to the economic commission of the EU Parliament.
Consumers have resumed spending but "remain wary of anxiety over their jobs and wage prospects," and uncertainty also weighs on firms' investment plans, he added.
The latest ECB projections, Lagarde recalled, predict annual GDP growth of -8% in 2020, 5% in 2021 and 3.2% in 2022. "The GDP of the euro area should recover to pre- crisis only at the end of 2022 ", but" the strength of the recovery remains heavily dependent on the evolution of the pandemic and the success of the containment policies. The public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity and pose downside risks to prospects economic, "he added.
"In this context, labor support schemes and national bank loan guarantees remain key factors in reducing uncertainty and mitigating the impact of the pandemic," said Lagarde.
"The monetary policy measures taken since March have provided crucial support for the economic recovery", without them "we would have a deeper contraction and a more severe reduction in inflation".
Therefore, "in the current environment of high uncertainty" the board of governors "remains ready to adjust its tools, appropriately, to ensure that inflation moves towards target in a sustained manner, in line with its commitment to symmetry. ": ECB president Christine Lagarde told the economic commission of the EU Parliament.
"It is now important to ensure that Next Generation EU funds are used not only on time but also in ways that increase long-term growth and support European goals. If we succeed, Next Generation EU could be the 'game changer' of which 'Europe needs, in terms of modernization, resilience and prosperity ": said ECB President Christine Lagarde speaking to the economic commission of the EU Parliament
Europe returns to highs with Lagarde, Frankfurt + 3%
- Equity markets of the Old Continent again at the highs of the day in parallel to the hearing of the ECB president, Christine Lagarde, in the European Parliament.
Frankfurt rises by 3%, Paris by 2.5%, Milan by 2.2% to 19,117 with the Ftse Mib index after a session ceiling reached at 19,173.
London is more cautious, still growing by 1.7%.
In Piazza Affari, Saipem is always very strong, up by 5.7%, with Unicredit and Banca Generali now up by more than four percentage points, again with the hypothesis of aggregations in the credit sector.
Mediobanca and Generali also grew by around 4%.
In contrast, Banco Bpm and Atlantia, both negative for a few fractions of a point.
