The President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, at the meeting of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, in response to a question by New Democracy MEP G. Ears on the impact of the war in the Middle East, said in complete clarity at the meeting of the European Parliament.

The complete dialogue is as follows:

G. Equias:. How much do you worry about the Middle East war on the euro, fuel, inflation and interest rates? It is an issue that any European citizen could raise you. Thank you.

Christine Lagarde: Thank you very much for your query. From a financial perspective I will answer you and see the possible consequences, which will have financial and financial. Any conflict, wherever, is always a threat to stability, steady growth and balance that investors need to invest, consumers to consume, employers to employ. Certainly we do not miss conflicts right now, and the scary is that, it seems that one conflict overrides the other and we really forget the previous one when the next one emerges. I always reply from your financial perspective.

It is clear that this recent conflict due to the parts involved and because of geography could actually create a situation where an important part of gas and oil passing through the straits of Ormuz, I think, said, a colleague said, can be blocked. If that happens, then this will definitely have an impact on both oil price and gas price. Something that will really be a shock to commissions. It will be able to create a problem of both duration and depth and will have a secondary impact, not only on energy prices. So this conflict is really a source of concern and it is a matter that we must watch very carefully. We hope, or we need to hope that members will be back on the negotiating table. They will discuss and hope to reach a settlement that will not create these financial consequences I have told you.

I am glad that we are in the financial situation we are at the moment, but certainly, in the short term, if this danger really becomes a reality, then it will have an impact on inflation. Now, in the medium term we will hardly appreciate it because there is a question of rising energy prices, demand reduction. So to reach specific consequences for the medium -term horizon, this can only be judged in the medium term. Thanks.