Lagarde Renews Push to Make the Euro a Truly Global Currency

Overview

• Speaking in prepared remarks at a Business France event, Christine Lagarde said the euro should stop serving as an intermediary to the dollar and become a full international currency.
• She argued that a stronger euro would provide greater resilience for the broader economy and exporters by limiting vulnerability to external volatility.
• Lagarde said the euro area lacks sufficient capital-market depth and needs more integrated markets to attract investment and manage safe-asset flows without harming competitiveness.
• She called for creating conditions that increase the use of the euro in global transactions and for pursuing new trade agreements to support European exports.
• The ECB president emphasized building durable investor confidence through stronger institutional credibility, including democratic checks and central-bank independence.