Eurozone
ECB argues risk of deflation is 'remote'
Monthly bulletin sets out criteria for what the European Central Bank considers deflation, as opposed to ‘subdued price developments of a less malign nature’
Lithuania cleared to adopt euro in 2015
Lithuania set to follow Estonia and Latvia into the eurozone; ECB gives seal of approval but warns it will be ‘challenging' to keep inflation low after joining
Irish inflation is domestically determined, central bank economists find
Paper by Central Bank of Ireland deputy governor Gerlach and colleagues challenges traditional view that Irish inflation dynamics are determined abroad
Romania governor backs banking union as ‘substitute' for fiscal union
National Bank of Romania governor is prepared to take his country into the single currency despite the lack of a fiscal union without which monetary union 'cannot function properly'
Coeuré calls for further progress to single capital market
ECB board member Benoît Cœuré tells International Capital Market Association that price convergence alone will not signal the end of eurozone capital market fragmentation
European central banks strike new gold agreement
Central banks in the eurozone, Sweden and Switzerland agree to coordinate their gold transactions, but scrap the 400-tonne limit on annual sales
QE for infrastructure investment could be ECB's alternative to ‘pushing on a string'
As the ECB continues to struggle to boost lending in the eurozone periphery, a leading Greek academic is proposing it channels QE through the European Investment Bank
Lithuania may squeeze past eurozone’s asymmetric convergence criteria
The asymmetric nature of the EU’s convergence criteria means that Lithuania, with 0.6% average annual inflation, may only scrape into the eurozone next year
Constâncio calls for centralised deposit insurance scheme
European Central Bank’s Vítor Constâncio welcomes legislators deal on deposit guarantees but insists they are ‘only a little part’ of what is necessary
Big eurozone economies dragged each other down during eurozone crisis
Sovereign CDS in Spain and Italy showed ‘notable co-dependence' in 2009–12 and also explained much of the widening in Germany's spreads, IMF paper says
Poland still has euro doubts after decade in EU
The National Bank of Poland could need two years to make technical adjustments before the country can join the eurozone; ERM II presents another hurdle
Structural reforms could get eurozone out of recession, paper shows
Bank of Portugal working paper finds structural economic reforms could get the eurozone out of recession and away from the zero lower bound if designed correctly
ECB paper finds eurozone inflation better anchored than US
Analysis of medium- and longer-term inflation expectations at times of economic shocks finds European inflation expectations more firmly anchored than in the US
Financial markets still fragmented, say ECB and Commission
European Central Bank and European Commission find the eurozone is more economically and financially fragmented now than it was before the crisis
Constancio hails Banking Union's ‘remarkable sharing of sovereignty'
ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio says Banking Union with no common recapitalisation tool requires EU's biggest economies to surrender their advantage
Bonnici says Malta's economy weathering European storm
Central Bank of Malta governor says economy has been performing well despite the difficulties posed by eurozone weakness, with a strong banking sector and above-average profit for the central bank
Praet invokes Minsky to show importance of banking union
Europe's economies cannot converge by allowing 'catch-up' countries to ride a financial cycle upswing - as what goes up must come down, ECB chief economist tells conference
DNB's Knot says EMU countries must stick to macroeconomic rules
Blame for the euro crisis should be shared between surplus and deficit countries, says Dutch central bank chief, who urges a strict adherence to rules governing monetary union
French paper constructs credit risk indicators for eurozone
Working paper published by Banque de France builds credit risk indicators that are ‘highly robust’ leading indicators for economic activity and the growth of bank lending
Lagarde calls for co-ordination to contain ‘spillovers' and ‘spillbacks'
Speech warns advanced economies they can suffer from negative feedback when their policies cause spillovers in emerging markets
Eurozone policy was ‘backward' in the financial crisis, says Draghi
The policy measures brought in by the ECB and other eurozone authorities in 2010–11 were right in isolation but introduced in the wrong sequence, Mario Draghi has said
ECB flags pitfalls for new Estonian supervisory law
Legal opinion on draft law praises intentions but warns of a number of risks, including the potential to undermine the central bank’s independence
Draghi calls for 'good' form of bank deleveraging
By encouraging creative destruction in the banking sector, the ECB facilitates creative destruction in the wider economy, Draghi tells Vienna crowd
Bundesbank stands firm on risks posed by non-standard policy
Annual report reiterates German concerns that non-standard policies pose a threat to central bank independence; Weidmann says wintry economic conditions are beginning to warm