Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Jana Randow and Mark Schrörs on 3 December 2025

8 December 2025

What do you make of the most recent data on growth and inflation? And how do you assess the risk to economic activity and prices at the moment?

The euro area economy has been much more resilient than could have been expected in the face of the greatest disruption of the international trade order since the Second World War. We upgraded our growth projection for 2025 in the course of this year and incoming data suggest continued growth in the fourth quarter. The European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator stands at its highest level since April 2023, and the Purchasing Managers’ Indices point to a solid expansion, driven mainly by services while manufacturing remains sluggish.

So, the euro area economy is on course to grow above potential despite the headwinds. Weak net exports have been more than compensated by strong…