ECB's Draghi: Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament

20 November 2017

ECB President Mario Draghi discussed the outlook for the euro area economy and the recalibration of ECB‘s monetary policy measures, as well as the role of TARGET2 in supporting financial integration and the implementation of ECB’s monetary policy.

The EU Treaties gave the ECB the primary objective of maintaining price stability in the euro area as a whole. This is the best contribution ECB can make to the welfare of citizens.

Ensuring price stability is a precondition for the euro area economy to achieve a balanced growth path that can be sustained in the long run. But this is not the only condition.

Achieving a balanced growth path also requires to strengthen the euro area ability to deal with risks, whenever they will materialise. The current economic outlook provides a unique opportunity to reduce the likelihood of severe shocks by strengthening the economic structures of Member States, with policy actions both on the fiscal and structural side.

“At the same time, boosting the resilience of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) implies also reinforcing our common institutional set-up so as to prevent and manage shocks,“ he says.

Mr. Draghi thus welcomes the European Parliament’s role in such discussions and the renewed efforts by euro area leaders and ministers to tackle the issue, as reflected in, for instance, the recent Eurogroup meeting. It is in this spirit that he looks forward to the upcoming Euro Summit meeting on EMU governance.

Full statement


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