In an interview with Econostream Media, Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, said the euro area economy has proven more resilient than expected, with early 2026 growth likely to exceed projections and inflation steadily converging toward the ECB鈥檚 2% target.
European banks face a paradox: the greatest risk may be failing to innovate. In his keynote at the 10th Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference, Patrick Montagner emphasized that innovation is critical for economic growth, competitiveness, and resilience in the banking sector鈥攂ut it must be carefully managed to safeguard financial stability.
Euro area banks reported a notable shift in lending behaviour in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the January 2026 Bank Lending Survey (BLS). While credit standards for housing loans eased slightly, banks tightened standards for corporate and consumer lending, citing higher risk perceptions and reduced risk tolerance.
Europeans are increasingly worried about extreme heat and other impacts of climate change but remain poorly prepared to cope with them, according to a Europe-wide survey published on 4 February by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Eurofound.
The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) now contains 253 entries for chemicals that can harm people or the environment. Companies are responsible for managing the risks of these chemicals and giving customers and consumers information on their safe use.
The European Central Bank left its three key interest rates unchanged at its meeting on 5 February, reaffirming that inflation is expected to stabilise at its 2% target over the medium term.
The European Central Bank kept its three key interest rates unchanged at its February meeting, reaffirming that inflation is expected to stabilise at the 2% target over the medium term, ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a press conference in Frankfurt.
The digital euro is essential to strengthening Europe鈥檚 payment sovereignty as cash use declines and digital payments become dominant, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said in a speech in Nicosia.
Professional forecasters expect euro area inflation to remain close to the European Central Bank鈥檚 2% target over the coming years, according to the ECB鈥檚 Survey of Professional Forecasters for the first quarter of 2026.
The European Central Bank is pressing ahead with plans for a digital euro to preserve access to central bank money in an increasingly digital economy and to reduce Europe鈥檚 reliance on non-European payment providers, according to ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency.
