Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and François Villeroy de Galhau, former Governor of the Banque de France, have been awarded the Great Franco-German Media Prize. At the award ceremony in Paris, their close cooperation in the service of European integration was honoured.

The external ECB Governing Council meeting took place on 9 and 10 September in Berlin. The agenda included monetary policy decisions and the release of new macroeconomic projections. The Governing Council decided to raise the key interest rates by 25 basis points. The Governing Council usually meets in Frankfurt am Main. This year, the Bundesbank hosted the Governing Council meeting in Germany’s capital city.

What affects the functioning of financial markets? This question was at the heart of the 21st Central Bank Conference on the Microstructure of Financial Markets hosted by the Deutsche Bundesbank at its Conference Centre in Eltville am Rhein. Over two days, researchers, policymakers and practitioners explored a broad range of topics across financial markets – from global currency markets, collateral and funding markets to market transparency, safe assets and market resilience.

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.