European Central Bank
A person walks along a hallway of Milan's Statale University, northern Italy, Monday, June 21, 2021. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU. A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Can pandemic recovery plan end Italy's years of stagnation?

By David Mchugh And Colleen Barry Jun. 23, 2021 02:56 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb.14, 2021 file photo the sun is about to rise behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany. The European statistics agency Eurostat released monthly inflation figures Tuesday.(AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)
Europe leaves stimulus running hot ahead of recovery

By David Mchugh Jun. 10, 2021 07:54 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct.5,2020 file photo red warning lights shine on the building of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. The European Central Bank is expected to leave its stimulus efforts running full steam Thursday _ even as the economy in the 19 countries that use the euro currency shows more and more signs of a robust recovery as pandemic restrictions ease. (AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)
Europe's stimulus likely to keep running as economies reopen

By David Mchugh Jun. 09, 2021 06:34 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb.14, 2021 file photo the sun is about to rise behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany. The European statistics agency Eurostat released monthly inflation figures Tuesday.(AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)
Eurozone inflation rebounds to 2.0% on higher energy prices

By David Mchugh Jun. 01, 2021 05:53 AM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, March 11, 2021 file photo, a man walks past the Euro sculpture in Frankfurt, Germany. The ECB is warning that some parts of the eurozone economy could face financial disruption from the ongoing pandemic. The central bank said COVID-19 restrictions have had an uneven impact, hitting service companies and small companies harder. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
ECB sees elevated risks to financial stability in Europe

May. 19, 2021 07:31 AM EDT

A waiter addresses customers sitting at a restaurant backdropped by Milan's gothic cathedral, Italy, Monday, April 26, 2021. Italy’s gradual reopening after six months of rotating virus closures is satisfying no one: Too cautious for some, too hasty for others.  Allowing outdoor dining starting Monday is coming too little, too late for restaurant owners whose survival has been threatened by more than a year of on-again, off-again virus closures. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's 'epochal' recovery plan targets women, youth, south

By Nicole Winfield Apr. 26, 2021 06:40 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, FEB. 8, 2021 file photo, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde addresses European lawmakers during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels. The European Central Bank is expected to signal Thursday, April 22, 2021 that even if inflation rises later this year, it won't consider cutting back support for Europe's economy, which is lagging the U.S. and China amid a drawn-out struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool, File)
ECB head: Europe "on crutches," still needs robust stimulus

By David Mchugh Apr. 22, 2021 06:12 AM EDT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, arrives for a meeting of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
German court refuses effort to block EU recovery fund

Apr. 21, 2021 05:30 AM EDT

A woman wearing a face mask waits at a tram station with an emergency phone in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Lagging US, Europe speeds up help for virus-hit economy

By David Mchugh Mar. 11, 2021 05:01 AM EST

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi talks with Italy's Minister for Parliamentary Relations, Federico D'Inca, as he attends a lower Chamber session in the Italian Parliament, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, ahead of a confidence vote that would mark the start of his government. (Filippo Monteforte/Pool photo via AP)
Italy's 5-Stars divided over Draghi, expel 15 senators

By Nicole Winfield Feb. 18, 2021 08:33 AM EST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 file photo, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, right, is flanked by Deputy-Premier Matteo Salvini as he addresses the Senate in Rome. When Giuseppe Conte exited the premier’s office, palace employees warmly applauded in him appreciation. But that’s hardly likely to be Conte’s last hurrah in politics. Just a few hours after the handover-ceremony to transfer power to Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief now tasked with leading Italy in the pandemic, Conte dashed off a thank-you note to citizens that sounded more like an ’’arrivederci″ (see you again) then a retreat from the political world he was unexpectedly propelled into in 2018.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Conte's last hurrah? Italy's 'simple citizen' plots return

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 15, 2021 05:22 AM EST

Italian Premier Mario Draghi sanitizes his hands as outgoing Premier Giuseppe Conte looks at him, as he enters Palazzo Chigi Premier office in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Mario Draghi, credited with largely saving the euro currency, has formally taken the helm of Italy, focused on guiding the country through the pandemic and reviving its economy. Premier Draghi and his Cabinet ministers were sworn into office Saturday at the Quirinal presidential palace in front of President Sergio Mattarella. (Ettore Ferrari/Pool via AP)
Draghi takes helm in Italy, focused on pandemic recovery aid

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 13, 2021 07:09 AM EST

Soldiers march in the courtyard of the Quirinale presidential palace prior to the arrival of Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, in Rome, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Draghi has secured pledges of backing from nearly every party in the Italian Parliament as he wrapped up political consultations aimed at giving the pandemic-ravaged nation a new government. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Draghi forms new govt blending experts, political operatives

By Colleen Barry And Nicole Winfield Feb. 12, 2021 01:49 PM EST

FILE -- In this Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, Five Star Movement's Beppe Grillo arrives to meet with former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, at the Chamber of Deputies, in Rome. The populist 5-Star Movement, the Italian Parliament’s largest party, is holding off for now on committing to back the new government Mario Draghi is trying to assemble. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
Italian populists dither over support for Draghi government

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 10, 2021 02:02 PM EST

Office lights of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
ECB's Lagarde: Pandemic continues to threaten economy

By David Mchugh Feb. 08, 2021 12:22 PM EST

FILE - In this Thursday, June 5, 2014 file photo, the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Italy's weary president on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 tapped "Super Mario," arguably the world's most famous Italian, to resolve a festering political crisis that threatens the ability of the eurozone's third-largest economy to manage the coronavirus pandemic and recover from the worst recession since World War II. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
Draghi wins support of ex-Italian PM who triggered crisis

By Colleen Barry Feb. 05, 2021 01:30 PM EST

Mario Draghi arrives at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. As Mario Draghi works to secure the required backing in Parliament for him to govern, Italy's outgoing leader on Wednesday warned against the former European Central Bank chief's opting to lead the pandemic-battered country with a team of technocrats instead of politicians. Caretaker Premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters he had a long, “very open” talk a day earlier with Draghi, shortly after Italy’s president asked the banking expert to try to form a government to replace Conte’s collapsed coalition. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Italy's Conte: Draghi's new government should be political

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 04, 2021 11:03 AM EST

Former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi speaks to the media after accepting a mandate to form Italy's new government from Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Rome's Quirinale Presidential Palace, Wednesday Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)
Draghi brings market savvy, gravitas to tame Italy's crises

By Colleen Barry And David Mchugh Feb. 03, 2021 10:59 AM EST

A group of supporters hold placards reading "Draghi President" in front of the Quirinale Presidential palace in Rome Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi arrived for talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella to discuss a mandate to form a new government. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Italy looks to 'Super Mario' Draghi to end political crisis

By Nicole Winfield And Colleen Barry Feb. 03, 2021 03:03 AM EST

FILE-- Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, left, welcomes reigning European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on the eve of the change at the head of the ECB in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. Italian President Sergio Mattarella has summoned Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Quirinale Presidential Palace on Wednesday for talks, after two rounds of talks failed to seal an agreement among parties on a new premiership for the outgoing Giuseppe Conte. (Boris Roessler/Pool Photo via AP)
Ex-ECB's Draghi positioned to lead Italy after politics fail

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 02, 2021 10:11 AM EST