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OSNUTEK POROČILA (2026/2121(INI))

O Evropski centralni banki – letno poročilo za leto 2026

ECON-PR-796229

Odbor za ekonomske in monetarne zadeve · Rapporteur: Georgios Aftias

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 22 Oct 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

A draft report on the European Central Bank's (ECB) annual report for 2026 restates that price stability is the ECB's main goal and that its statutory independence must be matched by accountability to Parliament. It notes inflation rose to 3.2% in August 2026 and energy prices to 14.3%, and calls on member states to back ECB efforts with sound fiscal policies. It welcomes the start of the Pontes initiative and talks on the digital euro, which should complement cash, and stresses the role of cash as a means of payment. It asks the ECB to keep contributing to the safety of the banking system and financial stability, and welcomes its simplification work and exchanges with Parliament.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes a resolution restating price stability and ECB independence paired with accountability, supporting a gradual balance-sheet reduction, welcoming the digital euro and Pontes initiative, and calling for sound national fiscal policies and continued ECB work on financial stability.

Key points

  1. Recalls that Article 127(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) makes price stability the primary objective of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
  2. Stresses that the ECB's statutory independence is a basic condition for its price-stability mandate, and that the ECB is accountable to Parliament and must decide without political interference.
  3. Finds transparency important for accountability and welcomes the exchange of letters between Parliament and the ECB structuring cooperation practices in central banking.
  4. Expresses concern at high living costs, especially for low-income households, as food and energy prices rose after the crisis in the Middle East.
  5. Says member states can complement ECB efforts to lower inflation through prudent fiscal policies, and that cutting excessive public deficits and debt levels is key to a stable economy and fiscal room to respond to shocks.
  6. Stresses that geopolitical uncertainty, energy security risks and trade disruptions distort price developments, and that the ECB's purchase programmes are unconventional instruments whose balance-sheet reduction is very gradual.
  7. Insists the ECB must always respect the principle of market neutrality in all monetary policy operations.
  8. Welcomes the start of the Pontes initiative, the first under the Eurosystem's strategic programme, to prepare central bank money for tokenisation.
  9. Welcomes interinstitutional negotiations on the digital euro package and says a digital euro complementing cash is essential to strengthen the euro area's monetary sovereignty and reduce fragmentation of retail payment systems.
  10. Stresses the importance of keeping cash's role as a means of payment, and recalls that the Eurosystem rests on the prohibition of monetary financing and the no-bail-out clause, ensuring monetary dominance.
  11. Calls on the ECB to keep contributing to the safety and soundness of the banking system and to financial stability in Europe while respecting its independence, and supports its role in the Single Supervisory Mechanism and in protecting liquidity and confidence during crises.
  12. Welcomes the ECB's commitment to simplification efforts and the results of its high-level task force on simplification, and its in-depth discussions with Parliament.

Who is affected

  • The ECB: asked to keep respecting market neutrality, contribute to banking and financial stability, and continue simplification work.
  • Member states: urged to use prudent fiscal policies and cut excessive deficits and debt to support lower inflation.
  • Low-income households: singled out as hardest hit by high living costs from food and energy price rises.
  • The euro area: a digital euro and resilient payment systems are presented as strengthening its monetary sovereignty.

Figures and deadlines

  • 25 basis points: size of each of the ECB's two key interest rate increases, on 11 June and 10 September 2026.
  • 50 basis points: total increase in the three key ECB interest rates.
  • 2.9% in July 2026 and 3.2% in August 2026: euro area inflation.
  • 10.3% in July 2026 and 14.3% in August 2026: energy price inflation.
  • Early 2027 and 2028: periods when, per the ECB's latest projections, core inflation is expected to rise and then stabilise again.

Legal basis: Articles 119, 123(1), 125, 127(1) and (2), 130, 282(2) and 284(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and Articles 3 and 13 of the Treaty on European Union.