ECB Governing Council member Martins Kazaks said there is no near-term need for the European Central Bank to deliver several interest-rate increases in quick succession, according to a June 29 report citing an Econostream interview. He said additional tightening should be considered patiently and step by step as more data become available.
The remarks follow the ECB’s June 2026 decision to raise rates by 25 basis points and its guidance that policy will remain meeting-by-meeting, data-dependent, and without pre-commitment to a rate path. In an April Reuters interview, Kazaks said market expectations for two rate increases in 2026 were appropriate but declined to commit to any specific meeting, adding that a single 25 basis-point move would mainly serve as a signal and that policymakers should assess incoming information before acting.
ECB communications this month said the June move was aimed at keeping inflation on track for the 2% medium-term target after an energy-price shock, while also stressing unusually high uncertainty. The ECB’s June projections showed headline inflation at 3.0% in 2026, 2.3% in 2027, and 2.0% in 2028, with longer-term inflation expectations still around 2%.
ECB assessments have also said the key issue is whether higher energy costs spread more broadly through prices and wages. Recent ECB materials said such second-round effects had not become clearly visible, while shorter-term inflation expectations had risen and officials were continuing to monitor pass-through to food, goods, and services as well as labor-cost developments.