Edin Mujagic

European dependence on fossil fuels poses a risk to price stability. That is according to Frank Elderson, the Dutch member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB). Energy shocks, which seem to occur with increasing frequency, are making it ever more difficult for the ECB to keep inflation at 2 percent per year.

Faithful readers of this column know that I am deeply concerned about the politicization of the European Central Bank (ECB). Lessons from monetary history and piles of academic research support that concern: we simply know that a central bank that listens to what politicians want is bad news for inflation in the medium term.

On the eve of the recent meeting of EU leaders on how to make the European economy more innovative, more competitive, and less dependent on foreign countries, participants were sent a note from the European Central Bank (ECB). In it, the bank outlined what it considers desirable policy to achieve those goals.

The European Central Bank (ECB) finds it wonderful to see that the euro is gaining popularity around the world, now that the image of the US and, in its wake, the dollar, is suffering from US policy and the country’s stance on the global stage.

It was fall break in October, which meant plenty of travelers crossed the Atlantic to visit New York. One of the perks: shopping in the Big Apple had become much cheaper than at the start of the year.

It is March 2020 and Italy is in serious trouble. Italian long-term interest rates are rising rapidly, and the spreads with other eurozone countries are widening.

At the Weseler Werft, a green strip along the river Main in Frankfurt with a view of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters, the music of Strauss, Mendelssohn, and Liszt rang out on August 21. The ECB sponsored the Europa Open Air concert to celebrate European diversity.

It was June 2008 when I flew to New York to meet Paul Volcker for the first time. That trip is memorable for two reasons: first and foremost, of course, for the opportunity to sit down and talk with Volcker. But also because that week, EUR/USD reached its all-time high, just shy of 1.60.

Falling inflation and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) conviction that price increases will stabilize around two percent annually in the long run made it possible for Frankfurt to announce another rate cut earlier this month. With this move, the policy rate has now been more than halved compared to the summer of 2024. The ECB seems to be casting out the interest rate anchor and allowing itself to drift for a while.

The U.S. dollar is taking a beating. I’m not just referring to its exchange rate, but also to the growing doubts being raised about the role the greenback plays on the global stage as the de facto world currency.