Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the plenary session of the European Parliament

Strasbourg, 26 February 2024

As we approach the end of this legislative term, I wish to sincerely thank this Parliament for collaborating in guiding Europe through economic headwinds and geopolitical upheavals, always with the shared vision of bolstering prosperity and fortifying our resilience.

Building on this collaborative spirit, today’s debate on your draft resolution on the ECB Annual Report is a pillar of the ongoing dialogue between our two institutions; indeed, it is fundamental to the ECB’s accountability which ensures the democratic legitimacy of our actions.

Let me start by outlining the current state of the euro area economy and our monetary policy stance. I will then focus on the need for a common European response to strengthen euro area resilience and competitiveness.

Bringing inflation back to target in a challenging economic and geopolitical environment

The euro…