Lagarde: Europe Has Lost Competetiveness In Recent Decades

Q: How permanent is the loss of European competitiveness? Can you explain your views on wages? What kind of data do you need to see, what type of level do you need, for you to be confident?

A: We will learn more on competitiveness when we read President Draghi’s report. Europe has lost competitiveness for the last couple of decades and was accentuated during the financial crisis. This is why the GC is a strong supporter of capital markets union.

A: When we look at underlying inflation, there is one obvious outlier and that is domestic inflation and that is services. Clearly wages drives that up. We are also very attentive to profits. I am not suggesting that wage growth should be dampened. I am saying it is a major component of service inflation.