Two premieres accompanied the De-Briefing on the results of the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB): For the first time, a De-Briefing was organised cooperatively between the European Movement Germany (EBD) and the European Movement Austria (EBÖ). Moreover, the event reported on the first meeting of the governing council following the ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) on the ECB’s bond-buying program. Dr. Tobias Linzert, head of the policy assessment section in the ECB’s directorate-general monetary policy, and Gabriel Glöckler, principal adviser in the ECB’s directorate-general communication, informed about the results of the meeting of the monetary guardians. EBD Secretary General Bernd Hüttemann chaired this first EBD & EBÖ De-Briefing.

Initially, the De-Briefing focused on the results of the ECB governing council. In the wake of the drastic economic slump within the eurozone and the associated sharp decline in inflation prospects, the governing council decided on further measures to counteract the economic impact of the COVID 19 crisis at its meeting on 4 June. In this context, the ECB agreed to expand its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) by an additional 600 billion euros to a total volume of 1.35 trillion euros.

The programme aims at ensuring favourable financing conditions for all sectors of the economy while respecting the rules laid down in the EU treaty. As emphasised in the De-Briefing, maintaining price stability in the eurozone is the central mandate of the ECB. The ECB’s medium-term inflation target is close to but below 2%. The provisions of the EU treaties, according to which the ECB is obliged not to carry out monetary public financing, ought to be observed. The governing council has also adjusted the time horizon of PEPP in view of developments in the crisis so that the programme is now set to run until at least mid-2021. Moreover, redemption amounts of securities purchased under the PEPP are to be reinvested at maturity until at least the end of 2022.

The discussion following the presentation was characterised by questions of principle regarding the work and direction of the ECB. Questions relating to the basic functioning of the ECB were discussed. It was emphasised how strongly the work of the ECB is influenced by the heterogeneity of the eurozone and how it is constantly operating in a field of tension between different national opinions. The common task of the ECB and the member states to explain the common monetary policy was mentioned in this context. Furthermore, questions on technical details and the relationship between PEPP and the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) as well as the relationship between monetary and climate policy were discussed. The ECB is expected to clarify how monetary policy can take greater account of climate change objectives in its strategic review announced in spring.

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