European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde sat down with CNBC’s Karen Tso for a wide-ranging, exclusive interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The meeting kicked off the day after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the subject of potential trade tariffs were one of the dominant topics of discussion.
“What we need to do here in Europe is to be prepared and anticipate what will happen in order to respond,” Lagarde told CNBC.
In response to rising digital transactions, the ECB is developing a digital euro. However, Lagarde was hesitant to confirm its rollout.
“So, my hope is on the European Parliament, the Commission, the European Council, to come together and to make sure that the legislative setting is in place so that we can actually either give the green light or say, no, too complicated, too risky, too costly, we dump it,” Lagarde said.
Since taking office as president of the European Central Bank in November 2019, Lagarde has dealt with unprecedented challenges, ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic, to rising energy costs and high inflation.
With less than three years of her term remaining, Lagarde said she remains focused on the job at hand.
“I don’t care how I’m remembered. What I care about is getting the job done. We need inflation at 2%. I need to deliver price stability, so that the rest of the players can actually play their game at their best,” she said.
Watch the video above for the full interview.