Article written by Dario Silic, PhD
From 12 to 14 January 2026, Vienna hosted the annual Euromoney Conference, bringing together more than 800 high-level participants from across Europe and beyond. 5 Ministers of Finance, central bank representatives, CEOs of major financial institutions, and senior policymakers gathered with Financial Times economists to discuss the future of monetary policy, inflation management, and fiscal-monetary coordination in an increasingly complex global environment.
What made this year’s conference particularly valuable was the remarkable convergence of ideas emerging from different panels—ideas that can best be described as a shift toward neo-monetarism adapted to Europe’s structural realities.
A Rare Concentration of Decision-Makers
It was exceptional to hear direct feedback and strategic thinking from key stakeholders shaping Europe’s monetary and fiscal architecture, including:
· Markus Marterbauer, Minister of Finance, Republic of Austria
· Jürgen Ligi, Minister of Finance, Republic of Estonia
· Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance, Georgia
· Marko Primorac, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Croatia
· Alexandru Nazare, Minister of Finance, Romania
· Orson Francescone, Managing Director, Financial Times
· Greg Guyett, First Vice President, EBRD
· Eliza Zeidler, Deputy Minister of State Assets, Poland
· Michael Baranowski, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Poland
· Olga Zykova, Deputy Minister of Finance, Ukraine
Together with many central bankers, institutional investors, and corporate leaders, these voices offered a rare multi-angle view of Europe’s monetary future.
Inflation: No Longer a Temporary Phenomenon
One of the clearest messages across panels was that inflation in the euro area should no longer be treated as purely transitory. While headline inflation has moderated compared to the 2022–2024 peak, participants broadly agreed on three points:
1. Structural inflation drivers remain embedded, particularly in energy, labor markets, and geopolitically sensitive supply chains.
2. The pre-COVID era of ultra-low inflation is unlikely to return in the medium term.
3. Monetary policy must adapt to persistent volatility, not short-term shocks.
This represents a departure from traditional ECB communication of the past decade and signals a more realist and adaptive approach.
The Emergence of Neo-Monetarism in Europe
A recurring theme was what several speakers implicitly described as neo-monetarism—not a return to rigid money supply targeting, but a discipline-based framework emphasizing credibility, transmission efficiency, and coordination.
Key elements discussed include:
· Interest rates as a long-term structural tool, not a short-cycle instrument.
· Greater attention to monetary transmission asymmetries across eurozone economies.
· Acceptance that fiscal dominance risks must be actively managed, not ignored.
Unlike classical monetarism, this approach recognizes:
· High public debt levels,
· Political constraints,
· And the necessity of selective fiscal support during systemic shocks.
Fiscal Policy Is Back—But With Constraints
Ministers of Finance were notably aligned on one issue: fiscal policy can no longer act independently of monetary policy.
Several conclusions emerged:
· Fiscal expansion must be targeted, temporary, and productivity-enhancing.
· Broad, untargeted subsidies are increasingly viewed as inflationary and inefficient.
· Public investment should prioritize energy security, digital infrastructure, and defense-related resilience.
For smaller and emerging EU economies, maintaining market credibility and access to capital markets was repeatedly highlighted as a top priority.
Central Banks: Less Dogma, More Pragmatism
From central bank–adjacent discussions, a clear shift was evident:
· Less reliance on rigid models.
· Greater openness to data dependency, scenario-based policy, and judgment.
· Acceptance that monetary policy operates under radical uncertainty, not equilibrium conditions.
· Importance and the control of AI
This pragmatism reflects lessons learned from recent crises—pandemic, energy shock, war, and financial fragmentation.
Capital Markets and the Cost of Capital
From CEOs and institutional leaders, particularly the EBRD perspective, the message was unambiguous:
· The cost of capital in Europe will remain structurally higher than in previous years.
· Risk pricing is becoming more differentiated across countries and sectors.
· Investors are rewarding policy credibility, reform momentum, and institutional stability.
This has profound implications for public debt management, private investment, and long-term growth.
Key Conclusions from the Conference
In summary, the main conclusions emerging from different panels were:
1. Europe is entering a new monetary regime, not a temporary adjustment phase.
2. Inflation management requires coordination, credibility, and realism, not ideology.
3. Neo-monetarism in Europe emphasizes discipline over dogma.
4. Fiscal policy must support monetary stability, not undermine it.
5. Policymakers increasingly accept that economic resilience outweighs short-term growth optimization.
Final Reflection
As a professor of financial management at PSM Paris, my key takeaway from the Euromoney Conference 2026 is clear: Europe’s monetary and fiscal leaders are thinking differently—more cautiously, more strategically, and more pragmatically than in the past decade.
The era of easy answers is over. What replaces it is a more mature, if more complex, economic governance framework—one that may ultimately strengthen the eurozone’s long-term stability.
For academics, policymakers, and practitioners alike, Vienna 2026 offered not just discussion but a glimpse into the future architecture of European monetary policy.