Remarks by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 25th Anniversary of the Euro50 Group event at the Banque de France

Paris, 28 November 2024

Let me start by congratulating the Euro50 Group on its 25th anniversary: since the start of the euro, the Euro50 Group has convened many important discussions about the development of the euro area as a monetary union and the euro as a single currency.

Looking back at the first quarter of a century of the Euro50 Group naturally invites speculation about the next 25 years: what will we be discussing at the 50th anniversary of the Euro50 Group?

Let me list four major structural factors that look set to shape the next 25 years:^[1] (a) the next wave of technological change (digitalisation, artificial intelligence, automation, robotification);^[2] (b) climate change, nature degradation and the green transition;^[3] (c) the shifting configuration of geo-economics and geo-politics;^[4] and (d) demographic trends (increasing…