Keynote speech by Luis De Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, at the joint conference of the European Commission and the European Central Bank “European Financial Integration 2026”.
The conference took place on 7 May 2026.
See the conference programme here:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/260507-european-financial-integration.en.html
Watch all sessions from the conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl21D9J6kVk&list=PLnVAEZuF9FZlLRLPr0lrYXqh4DcZfWRBT
How can a more integrated banking sector enhance the competitiveness of the EU economy?
Chair: Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board and Vice-Chair of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, ECB
Panellists:
• Jonás Fernández Álvarez, Member of the European Parliament (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) and member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
• María Abascal, Director General of the Spanish Banking Association and Chair of EBF Executive Committee
• Britta Schmidt, Senior EU Banks Analyst, Autonomous Research
• Ignazio Angeloni, Senior Policy Fellow, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE (Sustainable Architecture for Finance in Europe), Goethe University Frankfurt
The conference took place on 7 May 2026.
See the conference programme here:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/260507-european-financial-integration.en.html
Watch all sessions from the conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Y49BF8mTQ&list=PLnVAEZuF9FZlLRLPr0lrYXqh4DcZfWRBT
Presentation of the ECB’s report on Financial Integration and Structure in the Euro Area:
John Fell, Deputy Director General of the Directorate General Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability, ECB
Presentation of the European Commission’s European Financial Stability and Integration Review:
Alexandra Jour-Schroeder, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA), European Commission
The conference took place on 7 May 2026.
See the conference programme here:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/260507-european-financial-integration.en.html
Watch all sessions from the conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Y49BF8mTQ&list=PLnVAEZuF9FZlLRLPr0lrYXqh4DcZfWRBT
From pillars to portfolios: rethinking pensions for an entrepreneurial Europe
Chair: Alexandra Jour-Schroeder, Deputy Director-General of DG FISMA, European Commission
Panellists:
• Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe Group)
• Geraldine Leegwater, CEO, PGGM Investment Management
• Beate Petry, Head of Global Pensions & Benefits, BASF SE, and Chairwoman of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für betriebliche Altersversorgung e.V. (German pension association)
• Patrick Hoedjes, Head of the Policy and Supervisory Convergence Department, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority
• Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Professor of Finance, University of Mannheim, and Head of the Pensions and Sustainable Financial Markets Research Unit, Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW)
The conference took place on 7 May 2026.
See the conference programme here:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/260507-european-financial-integration.en.html
Watch all sessions from the conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Y49BF8mTQ&list=PLnVAEZuF9FZlLRLPr0lrYXqh4DcZfWRBT
Today our Governing Council decided on monetary policy.
Listen to President Christine Lagarde present today’s decisions. The statement also covers:
• how the economy is performing
• how we expect prices to develop
• the risks to the economic outlook
• the dynamics behind financial and monetary conditions
Published and recorded during our press conference on 30 April 2026.
Our monetary policy statement at a glance, 30 April 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/visual-mps/2026/html/mopo_statement_explained_april.en.html
Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Monetary policy statement, 30 April 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/monetary-policy-statement/2026/html/ecb.is260430~f99cb123a8.en.html
Monetary policy decisions, 30 April 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.mp260430~81b7179e6f.en.html
Combined monetary policy decisions and statement, 30 April 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/monetary-policy-statement/shared/pdf/ecb.ds260430~1c397fa90c.en.pdf
European Central Bank
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html
ECB President Christine Lagarde explains the Governing Council’s monetary policy decisions and will answer questions from journalists at the Governing Council press conference to be held on Thursday, 30 April 2026 at 14:45 CEST in Frankfurt am Main.
The ECB is hosting a third online focus session to support payment service providers (PSPs) in preparing for the call for expression of interest to participate in the digital euro pilot. This session offers insights into the recently published PSP participation agreement and technical specifications, among other topics. These resources are key to understanding the conditions, technical requirements and what is expected of pilot participants.
