European Central Bank President Lagarde calls for faster EU integration and says digital euro preparations will be technically ready by October

In an interview, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde argued that heightened policy uncertainty linked to the new US administration should accelerate efforts to deepen European Union integration, particularly to reduce dependencies in energy, defence and finance. She also pointed to the digital euro and payment infrastructure as priorities, noting that the ECB expects to be technically ready from October to complete preparations for implementation and a gradual scale-up, subject to European Parliament approval. Lagarde linked the euro’s appreciation against the US dollar to elevated uncertainty and parts of financial markets losing confidence in US policies. On tariffs, she said the EU should be prepared to identify sectors, regions, amounts and percentages for potential retaliation if negotiations fail, while supporting outreach to partners such as Latin America, India, Indonesia and South-East Asia. She highlighted constraints from Europe’s reliance on non-European payment providers, which account for just over 60% of the market, and urged progress on draft legislation under discussion since July; she also pointed to “Omnibus” legislative packages as a route to reduce reporting burdens. The interview also referenced renewed Franco-German momentum, including a €500 billion German infrastructure programme and higher defence spending, as a potential catalyst for projects such as the capital markets union, and reiterated that ECB independence is guaranteed by the Treaties. On next steps for the digital euro, she urged the European Parliament to move forward on the legislative file, with the ECB aiming to complete technical preparations from October ahead of any phased rollout.