President Lagarde presents the latest monetary policy decisions – 19 March 2026

📅 Mar 19, 2026 European Central Bank 17 MIN 1756 VIEWS 18 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS

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 19 March 2026. Our monetary policy statement at a glance, 19 March 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press... Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Monetary policy statement, 19 March 2026 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press.....

Narrator 0:04 ↗

Today, the European Central Bank's governing council took its latest monetary policy decisions. In this episode, you'll hear President Christine Lagarde deliver the monetary policy statement from the press conference where she explains the decisions. You're listening to Euro Matters, the European Central Bank podcast. Today is Thursday, the 19th of March, 2026. Here is the monetary policy statement.

2 more exchanges in this transcript

Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX

APA

Lagarde, C. (2026, March 19). President Lagarde presents the latest monetary policy decisions – 19 March 2026 [Interview transcript]. European Central Bank. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/802309/

MLA

Christine Lagarde. "President Lagarde presents the latest monetary policy decisions – 19 March 2026." European Central Bank, 19 Mar. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/802309/.

BibTeX

@misc{lagarde2026_802309,
  author       = {Christine Lagarde},
  title        = {President Lagarde presents the latest monetary policy decisions – 19 March 2026},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, European Central Bank. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {mar},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/802309/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}

▶

Key Quotes (2)

“The war in the Middle East has made the outlook significantly more uncertain, creating upside risks for inflation and downside risk for economic growth. It will have a material impact on near-term inflation through higher energy prices.”

▶ 0:45 POLICY

“The governing council highlights the urgent need to strengthen the Euro area economy while maintaining sound public finances. Any fiscal responses to the energy price shock should be temporary, targeted, and tailored.”

▶ 7:15 POLICY

Newsletters that week

The ECB’s Fragile AdvantageIEP Bocconi · IEP@BU · Mar 24, 2026

More interviews with Christine Lagarde

ECB President Christine Lagarde on the euro's digital futureOct 14, 2026 · AtlanticCouncil · 35 min
Live - 10th annual conference of the European Systemic Risk Board (Day 1)Oct 01, 2026 · European Central Bank · 147 min
20261001 ECB Legal Conference Address Christine LagardeOct 01, 2026 · European Central Bank · 15 min
LIVE | LAGARDE'S HIDDEN MESSAGE: THE ECB'S PLAN FOR INFLATION AND RATES IN THE EUROZONESep 28, 2026 · Negocios TV · 105 min
EUROZONE INFLATION SURGES! Lagarde Warns Of Higher Prices Amid Energy Shock | Breaking News | N18GSep 28, 2026 · moneycontrol · 15 min
Christine Lagarde at Age Seventy – An Exceptional Journey – Mademoiselle NadiaSep 25, 2026 · Mesdames Media · 50 min

All Christine Lagarde transcripts →

About Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has been active in public engagements over the past two months, addressing monetary policy, inflation, and the digital euro. At the CNN Global Perspectives event in Bangkok in October 2026, she stated that fiscal discipline, particularly in countries like France, is the primary solution to rising bond yields, and she argued that Europe's economic growth is stronger than often perceived, citing upward revisions to 1.1% for 2026. She also discussed the impact of energy shocks from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, saying the ECB does not react to energy prices directly but monitors for second-round effects on inflation. Lagarde reaffirmed the ECB's commitment to its 2% medium-term inflation target, noting that inflation is projected to remain above target until the end of 2027 or 2028. On the digital euro, Lagarde announced that the Eurosystem will launch "Pontes," a distributed-ledger infrastructure for banks, on September 21, 2026, and expressed hope that the legislative process for the digital euro would be completed by the end of the year, with a pilot expected in mid-2027. She described the digital euro as a means for Europe to maintain control over its payment infrastructure, while acknowledging a role for stablecoins in moving crypto assets into fiat currency. In September, the ECB's Governing Council raised key interest rates by 25 basis points, a decision Lagarde described as a "no-brainer" and a unanimous choice to address inflation pressures. She also spoke on artificial intelligence, noting its potential to transform productivity and inflation dynamics, and emphasized the need for Europe to achieve "AI sovereignty."

All Christine Lagarde appearances → European Central Bank on YouTube →