Introductory remarks by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the ECON Committee of the European Parliament

Brussels, 4 May 2026

It is a privilege to present the ECB’s Annual Report for 2025 to this Committee. As you may know, it is the last time I will do so, as my eight-year mandate as Vice-President comes to an end later this month. That makes today’s exchange particularly meaningful for me.

Alongside the Annual Report, we are publishing our formal response to the European Parliament’s resolution on last year’s report. These two documents are at the heart of the ECB’s accountability to the Parliament and our ongoing dialogue.

I will start my remarks by reviewing economic and monetary policy developments during the year before discussing our broader activities and efforts to strengthen the Economic and Monetary Union.

The euro area economy in 2025 from an ECB perspective

The euro area economy experienced a moderate and broad-based recovery in 2025, despite a…