(Finance) – “In the context of a 45% increase in energy costs, right now inflation it is more than we would like. We think it may be a few months away. Perhaps within the middle of the year we will see the peak. But I think it depends on the war. ”She said it Philip Lane, chief economist of the ECB, in an interview with Antenna TV. “Most likely, with the nature of the energy shock, prices will stabilize at these high prices or start to decline,” he added. And we think it will be much lower next year and next year. “
To a question about the risk of stagflation for the euro area, he replied that it should be remembered that there is a “momentum in the European economy due to the reopening after the pandemic. We have Next Generation EU providing public investment in many countries. So when you put it all together, what we think is – yes – an economic slowdown, but the economy will continue to grow this year. So this is very important and we think that, unlike the 1970s, these are some months of high inflation rates. It’s not a decade of high inflation rates and we think inflation will go down by the end of the year. “
However, the scenario of war and high inflation must not overshadow the need for a transition to a more sustainable economy, despite high energy prices. “I think it is clear, perhaps more than ever. We know that Europe’s dependence on Russia is due to the fact that we have not made the transition. We have still too much oil and gas in our energy mix, so we know it can’t happen overnight, but we have to increase the share of renewable energy: solar panels, wind energy and so on. This is the only answer. Now obviously the plan has to be credible, the plan has to be funded, so it’s one great challenge for this decade. It is not overnight, but I think the answer is clear: it is to accelerate the transition. ”