The European Central Bank has started to address mounting price pressures, but further action will be necessary, Peter Kazimir, Slovakia’s central bank governor and an ECB policymaker, said in a commentary published on Monday.
Kazimir took note of the ECB’s recent decision to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly three years. The rate increase, announced on Thursday, was aimed at curbing inflation ahead of a wider spread of rising energy costs linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran across the euro area.
“This is no time for complacency and hesitation,” Kazimir wrote, stressing that elevated energy costs are likely to persist longer than many had anticipated. He added that, even if a just-announced U.S.-Iran peace framework were to reduce tensions, the damage in the Middle East could not be undone overnight.
Kazimir warned explicitly that, without decisive policy action, second-round effects from higher energy prices would emerge. He described the ECB’s recent move as an initial measure toward containing medium-term price pressures but made clear the task was incomplete.
“We have taken a first step towards containing medium-term price pressures,” Kazimir said. “But the mission is not complete. With today’s information, it is increasingly evident that monetary policy has more work to do.”
His comments underscore that the recent tightening marks the beginning of a process rather than its conclusion. Kazimir pointed to the persistence of energy price pressures as a central consideration for future policy decisions and framed the potential for second-round inflation effects as a key risk that could necessitate additional ECB measures.
The intervention comes amid concerns that energy-market developments could translate into broader inflationary momentum across the euro zone. Kazimir’s language emphasized the need for vigilance and readiness to take further steps if incoming information indicates that price pressures remain elevated.
Summary of the policy stance: Kazimir supports the ECB’s initial rate increase but says further tightening may be required to prevent lasting inflationary effects stemming from higher energy costs tied to geopolitical tensions.