ECB’s Sleijpen: Risks to Growth and Inflation “Balanced” but “Big”

19 December 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen said on Friday that there was currently no reason to move interest rates and that risks to growth and inflation were balanced but large.

Speaking to media in Amsterdam, Sleijpen, who heads De Nederlandsche Bank, said that the ECB was still in a “good place,” given that inflation was “very close to 2%,” which he described as “a kind of Nirvana for central bankers.”

Risks to the outlook were “significant,” he said, adding that there was currently “no reason” to move rates precisely due to these risks, which he described as “balanced” but “big” with regards to inflation and growth.

Related articles:

• ECB’s Sleijpen: Still in a Good Place, But Circumstances Can Change
• ECB’s Sleijpen: Projections and Incoming Data Provide No Case for Rate Move
• ECB’s Sleijpen: Political Uncertainty Could Hinder the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy