How can Europe’s economic integration be deepened and the Capital Markets Union created? What measures could help leverage the potential of the Single Market and strengthen the EU’s competitiveness? These questions were discussed by Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta at an event hosted by the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE in Frankfurt am Main.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a visit to the Bundesbank in Frankfurt am Main. Talking to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Executive Board members Burkhard Balz and Sabine Mauderer, he learned more about innovative topics at the central bank, such as the digital euro and artificial intelligence.

In an interview with the German business magazine “WirtschaftsWoche”, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel discusses weakening domestic economic activity, a reform of the debt brake and future monetary policy decisions. “If prices and the economy develop as expected, I would be in favour of cutting the key interest rates in June,” Mr Nagel explains. However, he also warns that the return of inflation to target is not a given.

Real gross domestic product is likely to have increased again slightly in the first quarter of 2024, according to the April Monthly Report. The somewhat higher level of industrial output and a rise in goods exports are supporting the German economy. Overall, they conclude, there is still no sign of a sustained improvement for the German economy.