On the occasion of the ECB's recent interest rate hike Henrike Hahn, MEP (The Greens/EFA), Deputy Speaker of the German Delegation of the Greens/EFA, Substitute Member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and Shadow Rapporteur on the ECB Annual Report 2021, comments:

“It's good that the ECB is finally slowing the pace of rate hikes. The strongest decline in credit demand since the euro crisis clearly shows that rate hikes are being transmitted to the real economy. Also in view of the stagnating economic growth in Germany in the last quarter, abrupt jumps in interest rates are no longer appropriate.

However, it is also clear that inflation in many sectors has been driven by increased corporate profits while real wages have been falling across Europe since several months. We need a fairer balance here. In order to ensure an evidence-based public discussion on the causes of inflation and to identify the right tools to combat this inflation, the ECB should continue to publish data on this topic on a regular basis.”

 

I would be happy to answer any further questions.