The normalization of European monetary policy “must be done gradually and in advance,” French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday, as the European Central Bank (ECB) is holding an emergency meeting in full soaring sovereign borrowing rates.
We don’t want brutality, we don’t want a decision that could take economic players by surprise and which ultimately would create more economic difficulties than anything else, said the minister who was speaking on the sidelines of the Vivatech Paris show.
We can clearly see that what guarantees the maintenance of growth – which is our priority -, the maintenance of job creation, the ability to finance the ecological transition, is visibility, explained Mr. Le Maire, adding that this is the choice that was made by the European Central Bank, it is the choice that was made by Christine Lagarde, and that seems to me the only wise choice.
He also argues for a well-targeted monetary policy, with a necessary balance between the fight against inflation and support for economic growth.
The Governing Council of the ECB was meeting virtually on Wednesday morning to discuss current market conditions, a source from the institution told AFP, an emergency meeting, while the sovereign debt market is experiencing strong turbulence since the central bank announced last week its intention to increase its key rates from July to fight inflation.
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This meeting also comes at a time when the American Federal Reserve (Fed) could announce its biggest increase in its key rates since 1994.
There is inflation in Europe which is different from inflation in the United States. There is an economic situation in Europe which is different from the American situation. We therefore wish to have a European monetary policy which gradually normalizes and without brutality, declared Bruno Le Maire.