The Prime Minister, António Costa, expressed “pleasure” this Friday with “the message of great confidence” conveyed by the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, to the leaders of the European Union (EU) regarding the soundness of the European financial system.
In a brief press conference after the Euro Summit, which ended two days of work by the Heads of State and Government of the 27, and on a day when major European financial health of European banks, Costa emphasized the ECB president’s message.
“The first message I would like to convey is that we are delighted to note the message of great confidence that Ms Lagarde conveyed regarding the soundness of the European financial system, explaining in detail the differences between the European regulatory system and the North American or even Swiss regulatory system, and therefore the reasons why we can have confidence in the stability of the financial system,” said the head of government.
The Prime Minister pointed out that for his part he had “the opportunity to underline that this stability and confidence would certainly be strengthened if we could speed up the completion of the Banking Union, in particular with the Deposit Guarantee Scheme”.
According to Costa, “In collaboration with União de Capitals, this would also be fundamental to strengthen the investment capacity of companies and in companies, so that they can accelerate their modernization process and participation in the twin transition, digital and energy”.
“With the guarantee of sufficient liquidity in the banking system, it is very important that this liquidity is focused on productive investments, on the energy transition, on creating more and better jobs, and not continue to be consumed, as it has been. have been excessive in real estate investment,” he stated.
Asked what he was able to say to Lagarde about the successive interest rate hikes decided by the ECB, Costa said that the position of the institution’s president, as well as his own, is well known, and was repeated today in Brussels.
“It is well known what Mrs Lagarde said, because she said in the Council exactly what she said publicly. As for what I said in the Council, it is also exactly what I said in public: the ECB must be very careful about the way it conducts this monetary policy,” he said.
António Costa warned that “it is true that the economy has proved much more robust than expected, but we all fear that this stems from the fact that there has been a very significant accumulation of savings and liquidity as a result of the pandemic and, as this savings decline, measures to raise interest rates may have an effect”.
“With regard to states, and especially states where there is high access to credit for housing, they should of course take measures that protect families from the consequences of this ECB policy,” he noted.
EU leaders reiterated today that the banking sector is “resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions”, on a day when several European banks are experiencing sharp stock market falls.
In a communiqué released at the end of the eurozone summit – which took place in an expanded regime – on the second day of the European Council, European leaders assured that the resilience of the EU banking system was “significantly strengthened” by the banking union.
“Our banking system is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions,” emphasizes the statement, in which the heads of state and government recommit to “completing the banking union”.
The words of the top stand in stark contrast to the fall that several banks – including Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank – have put on the stock market, amid recent turbulence in the industry and uncertainty over interest rate evolution.
The banking union aims to ensure that the banking sector in the euro area and the EU in general is stable, safe and reliable, thereby contributing to financial stability.
At the Euro Summit, Portugal was represented by the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, and the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, were present as guests.
Costa maintains support for banning new combustion cars after 2035
Portugal maintains its support for the proposal to ban the sale of new combustion cars from 2035, under the European Ecological Pact, and which Germany and Italy have announced they intend to review, the prime minister said on Friday.
“No, Portugal is not thinking of changing its position. I think it is very clear that we must maintain our ecological transition objectives,” António Costa said in statements to journalists at the end of the European Council.
The prime minister stressed the need to decarbonise the economy, which must be achieved “with an open vision of the range of technologies that should achieve this goal”, in order to achieve climate neutrality in the European Union (EU) by 2050.
Costa stressed the existence of alternatives to petrol and diesel engines, such as lithium batteries, and that the technology is constantly evolving, such as with regard to hydrogen.
The European Commission has proposed a ban on the sale of new combustion engine passenger cars in the EU from 2035 in a bid to combat climate change.
Germany recently challenged this decision, which it had already agreed to, and proposed an exception for biofuel vehicles.
Source: DN
