Today, the Commission presents an Action Plan on Synergies between civil, defence and space industries to further enhance Europe's technological edge and support its industrial base. The Action Plan is devised against the background that, for the first time, EU funding presents opportunities to reinforce European innovation by exploring and exploiting the disruptive potential of technologies at the interface between defence, space and civil uses, such as cloud, processors, cyber, quantum and artificial intelligence. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for ‘a Europe fit for...

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Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the opening plenary session of the European Parliamentary Week 2021 in virtual format I would like to thank you warmly for inviting me to speak to you today. It is a privilege to have an opportunity to talk to the citizens’ representatives at the heart of European democracy. Events like this one allow us to consider national debates in discussions about our common challenges as Europeans. For all of us, the past year...

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After ending last year with unexpectedly strong vaccine success and hope that the pandemic and economic distress it caused would recede, we woke up to the reality of new virus variants and the unpredictable, winding road that it can lead the world down. Something similar has happened with the discourse on inflation. At the end of last year, after a historic collapse of the global economy estimated at -3.5 percent, inflation was below target in 84 percent of countries. This...

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We value innovation and diversity—including in money. In the same day, we might pay by swiping a card, waving a phone, or clicking a mouse. Or we might hand over notes and coins, though in many countries increasingly less often. Today’s world is characterized by a dual monetary system, involving privately-issued money—by banks of all types, telecom companies, or specialized payment providers—built upon a foundation of publicly-issued money—by central banks. While not perfect, this system offers significant advantages, including: innovation...

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The annual accounts of the ECB reflect the financial position and the results of the ECB’s operations at year-end. They comprise the management report, the financial statements (i.e. the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss Account, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes), the independent auditor’s report and the note on profit distribution/allocation of losses. The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the accounting policies laid down in the relevant legislation and are specific to the European System of...

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