“Merchants are not just participants in the digital euro project – they are its driving force,” said Executive Board member Burkhard Balz during an event in Brussels. Representatives from politics, business and trade discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by a digital euro during the conference entitled “The digital €uro: a game changer for European merchants.”

Speaking at the Bundesbank’s third Financial Centre Conference, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said that Germany needed to pick up the pace of structural reform if it is to overcome its weak growth. According to First Deputy Governor Sabine Mauderer, there needs to be a capital market for all, whether people want to save for retirement or invest in German businesses. At the conference, decision-makers from the world of politics, business and finance discussed how Germany and Europe could finance their future.

The German economy is likely to grow slightly in the third quarter of 2025, the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report states. Despite continued unfavourable investment conditions for firms and additional burdens caused by the new US tariffs, there were no signs of any major setbacks for industry. It got off to a surprisingly strong start in the third quarter. A recovery in construction output is yet to materialise, however. Private consumption is likely to increase slightly, if at all, as the labour market is not providing any strong stimulus at present. The inflation rate rose to 2.1 % in August.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel used an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” newspaper to share his views on the ECB’s latest interest rate decision, inflation and the digital euro. Commenting on European monetary policy, Nagel said, In these uncertain times, we are not going to change our winning formula: We are not pre-committing to a particular rate path but look at the incoming data and make a decision on that basis at the respective monetary policy meeting. He sees positive effects for Germany from rising investment in Germany on infrastructure and defence.