On the occasion of today’s vote on the ECB Annual Report 2023 (418 in favour, 157 against and 42 abstentions) Henrike Hahn, MEP (The Greens/EFA), Deputy Speaker of the German Delegation of the Greens, Substitute Member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and Shadow Rapporteur on the ECB Annual Report 2021, comments:

“This year's ECB annual report from the European Parliament fails to send clear signals in times of monetary policy turbulence. Although inflation has been in free fall for months, the report argues that price increases remain extremely high. The political consequence of this would be further interest rate increases. However, the ECB will start cutting interest rates by summer at the latest. The stance of the conservative, liberal and right-wing extremist groups in the European Parliament makes no sense here.

It is also astonishing that it is not an issue at all for the right-wing and far-right wing of the Parliament that the ECB's interest rate policy meant that banks' deposits at the ECB were paid €146 billion in interest payments last year. This is particularly problematic because the ECB and national central banks finance these interest payments with tax payers’ money, while the people and the economy suffer at the same time on top from inflation, interest rate increases and budget cuts.

The EPP and the far-right groups also continue to refuse to demand the introduction of green interest rates by the ECB. This is completely out of time, when even French President Macron and members of the ECB Executive Board are in favour of a lower interest rate regime for green investments. Raising the same interest rates on fossil projects and investments in renewable energies or energy efficiency - that is simply nonsense in the age of the climate crisis.”

 

I would be happy to answer any further questions.