Thank you so much for inviting me to join you today. It is an honor to participate on behalf of the IMF. As you know, before I joined the IMF last Fall, I served as Jamaica’s Minister of Finance. This was during some of the most turbulent years in recent memory—marked elevated uncertainty, including COVID-19 and extreme weather events. And I can tell you that it has profoundly shaped my view on the role of tax capacity as the crucial...

On the occasion of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, the  European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced today a new type of guarantee agreement that will provide up to €5 billion to de-risk investments and expand EIB operations outside the European Union (EU). Today's guarantee has the potential to unlock up to €10 billion in funding for critical projects in clean energy, green infrastructure and access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in...

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB Good afternoon, ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane and I welcome you to this press conference, on the occasion of the conclusion of the 2025 assessment of our monetary policy strategy. The Governing Council recently agreed on an updated monetary policy strategy statement. You can find this statement on our website, together with an explanatory overview note and the two occasional papers presenting the underlying analyses. I will start by putting this...

Three ministers have put forward their candidacy to become president of the Eurogroup: Carlos Cuerpo, Minister for Economy, Trade and Business of Spain Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance of Ireland Rimantas Šadžius, Minister for Finance of Lithuania The election of the new president will take place at the next meeting of the Eurogroup on 7 July. The president is elected by a simple majority of the Eurogroup ministers, in line with the Treaty's Protocol 14 on the Eurogroup. If none of the...

By Elena Banu, Johanne Evrard, Daniel Jonas Schmidt and Michael Wedow There is now an urgent need to channel retail savings into European capital markets in order to develop those markets and finance EU priorities. In this edition of the ECB Blog, we show that an EU savings standard could increase retail participation in the capital markets, benefiting savers, boosting investment in EU companies and supporting strategic priorities. There are over 50,000 retail investment funds in the EU, offering a vast...

By Guillaume Chabert, Robert Powell Support for developing countries should focus on grants and highly concessional loans for poorest and helping the more advanced crowd in foreign investment and private finance The significant shocks that have buffeted the global economy over the past five years have weighed heaviest on low-income countries and fragile and conflict-affected states. The post-pandemic recovery in low-income countries has lagged emerging market economies, which began their revival in 2021, though with significant differences. Among low-income countries, defined as the 70...

Today marks a historic milestone as we, the leaders of the European Union and Canada, met to renew our enduring commitment and take a pivotal step to further reinforce the strategic partnership between the European Union and Canada. Our strong partnership is deeply rooted in trust and common values and shaped by a shared history of human connection and robust economic ties. Most importantly, our partnership is grounded in the core values we share: democracy, human rights, the rule...

Countries can count their contributions to the IMF as their own reserve assets under a unique funding model that does not require budget appropriations or any other taxpayer support The IMF may be best known for lending to crisis-hit countries. But what about its own finances? How does it finance its critical functions and cover its operational expenses? Let’s remember that the IMF is not only a global financial firefighter. It also provides policy advice and technical support to help members create...