Keynote speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Asian Monetary Policy Forum

Singapore, 22 May 2026

Introduction

It is an honour to be invited to contribute to the Asian Monetary Policy Forum. My topic today is to examine the role of Europe in the world economy.^[1] International trade, international finance, international technological diffusion, global commodity markets and global value chains generate many types of inward and outward linkages between Europe and the rest of the world.^[2]

In relation to the linkages between Asia and Europe, developments in Asia are an important driver of the euro area outlook. Along one dimension, shocks to the Asian economy have global reverberations. Along another, the transmission of global shocks is highly intermediated through the centrality of Asia in global supply chains.

My speech today has three parts. I will first review how the euro area economy has evolved over recent decades and how its relationship with…