A number of governors attending the meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday plead again a strong gesture of several hundred billion euros, which would add to more than 1000 billion euros already injected into the economy since the start of this coronavirus crisis. Christine Lagarde, president of the banking institution, had also assured at the beginning of the crisis that "exceptional period, exceptional response". In other words, she would do anything to save the economy of the euro area.

Concretely, the money from the ECB is used first to redeem the debts of certain states, in particular those of Italy at the moment. These states which can borrow at very attractive rates, just like the banks which also profit from interest rates often below 0% - which nevertheless increase rather quickly if these financial establishments do not lend behind the economy real, that is to say to individuals and businesses. Looking at the figures, this policy works: in April, loans to individuals increased by 3%, those to businesses by 6.6%. Banks are therefore really encouraged to lend money.

The ECB, "pyromaniac firefighter"?

However, there is no shortage of critics. The ECB is notably accused of financing polluting companies. For example, a group of NGOs has launched a petition, which has already collected nearly 110,000 signatures, to ask the institution to stop funding such businesses. A study by the Reclaim Finance association also reveals that the Frankfurt institution is buying the bonds of a large number of companies exposed to fossil fuels, oil companies in particular. This is very far from the European Green Deal, defended by the European Commission. According to the organization Sum of Us, which is one of the signatories, "the ECB plays the pyromaniac firefighter". But it should not be forgotten that the ECB is independent of the policy of the leaders of Brussels.

If green investment is not yet part of its monetary policy strategy, that may change soon. A source in Frankfurt tells France 24 that this monetary policy strategy, which has not been reviewed since 2003, could be revised to include objectives linked to the environment.

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