The external ECB Governing Council meeting took place on 9 and 10 September in Berlin. The Governing Council of the ECB usually meets in Frankfurt am Main. However, once a year, a national central bank hosts the meeting – this year, the Bundesbank had the honor of hosting it in the German capital. The agenda included monetary policy decisions and the release of new macroeconomic projections. ECB President Christine Lagarde presented the outcomes of the monetary policy meeting at a press conference on 10 September. The press conference was livestreamed.

The German economy has not slowed despite the war in the Middle East, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a joint press conference with Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil as part of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville. Germany’s gross domestic product grew perceptibly in the first half of 2026, he noted. The global economy, too, remains robust despite repeated flare-ups of the conflict in the Persian Gulf.

Digitalisation and interconnectivity are shaping payments in Europe and worldwide. At the Bundesbank’s Payments Symposium, around 200 experts from business, academia and government institutions came together to discuss challenges and opportunities in the world of payments. Speakers included Bundesbank Executive Board members Lutz Lienenkämper and Burkhard Balz as well as ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone.

“Oil and gas prices keep going up and down. Financial markets are very volatile. There is a lot of uncertainty. […] But the meeting-by-meeting approach has served us well in the past and will certainly do so in the future,” said Joachim Nagel in an interview with French newspaper “Le Monde”. In the interview, Mr Nagel spoke about current economic developments in Germany, the possibility of interest rate rises at the next ECB Governing Council meeting, and the need for common European solutions.