(Bloomberg) --
The European Central Bank has postponed its strategic review by six months as policy makers focus on containing the fallout from the coronavirus.
The big policy rethink, which was supposed to become the hallmark of President Christine Lagarde’s presidency, will be completed by the middle of next year, or six months later than initially planned, the ECB said on Thursday. The annual forum in the Portuguese resort of Sintra has been put off until Nov. 10-12 from late June.
“In the current situation, the decision-making bodies and staff of the ECB and the national central banks of the euro system are focusing all their efforts on addressing the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic,” according to the statement.
The outbreak has paralyzed the euro-area economy and pushed the ECB into a crisis-fighting mode, putting deliberations over issues such as inflation-targeting or climate change on the back burner. The review began in January.
Facing the worst crisis in its history, the ECB has massively expanded stimulus. A new 750 billion ($820 billion) emergency purchase program has even done away with some of the limits that until only recently looked sacrosanct.
Amid the ban on public gatherings, the ECB has also confirmed it’s delaying any listening events with European citizens until the second half of this year.
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