Germany’s economic substance and its pool of talent and entrepreneurial spirit are immense – these are qualities we can build on, Joachim Nagel stressed in an interview with the “Goslarsche Zeitung” newspaper to mark his speech at the 44th “Goslarsches Pancket”, a social gathering in the historic town of Goslar. Coming together and sharing views was more important than ever right now, given the significant uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East, the Bundesbank President said. By pulling together, he argued, Europe could make the most of opportunities and thus emerge stronger from this difficult spell.

Der Wage Tracker der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB), der laufende Tarifverträge erfasst, zeigt für das Jahr 2025 bei Glättung von Einmalzahlungen einen Anstieg der Tariflöhne um 3,2 % (bei einer Abdeckung von 50,7 % der Beschäftigten in den teilnehmenden Ländern) und für 2026 einen Anstieg um 2,3 % an (bei einer Abdeckung von 39,7 %). Der Abdeckungsgrad nimmt über den zukunftsgerichteten Zeithorizont hinweg allmählich ab, da 2026 noch weitere Tarifverträge abgeschlossen werden.

The Governing Council today decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged. It is determined to ensure that inflation stabilises at the 2 % target in the medium term. The war in the Middle East has made the outlook significantly more uncertain, creating upside risks for inflation and downside risks for economic growth. 

On 13 March 2024, the ECB Governing Council decided on changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy. These changes will affect how central bank liquidity will be provided as excess liquidity in the banking system, while remaining significant over the coming years, gradually declines.