European Central Bank: Whether interest rates or France – Lagarde is calm

September 11, 2025, 4:29 PM |

Reading time: 3 min.

The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde. — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. (Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/REUTERS)

The European Central Bank is not cutting interest rates any further, a sign of optimism. Its president, Lagarde, is calm about France's crisis, but points to a controversial rescue instrument.

By Meike Schreiber , Frankfurt

The European Central Bank ( ECB ) left its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected. The relevant deposit rate thus remains at 2.0 percent. From June 2024 to June 2025, the central bank cut the interest rate eight times in a row – now it's paused for a second time. The ECB actually expects slightly higher growth in the euro area this year than just three months ago. According to the latest ECB forecast, gross domestic product in the 20 eurozone countries is expected to grow by 1.2 percent in 2025. In June, the central bank had forecast growth of 0.9 percent.

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