billion per month on average from the beginning of march to the end of june 2023 and its subsequent pace to be determined over time. in the interest of simplicity and neutrality, the parameters for reducing the app portfolio will be closely in line with what we have done previously. this will preserve consistency with our monetary policy stance being set primarily by our interest rates. for the 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches eurosystem's corporate bond purchases, reinvestments will be tilted more strongly towards issuers with a better climate performance, supporting the gradual decarbonisation of our corporate bond holdings in line with the goals of the paris agreement – without prejudice to our price stability objective. the euro area – an attractive club let me now turn to other important matters you have raised in your draft resolution : the expansion of the euro area and the work we must do to complete our economic and monetary union. on 1 january, we welcomed croatia to the euro area – expanding our club from 19 countries to 20. croatia's accession is an impressive achievement, not only for croatia itself, but also for the euro. it shows that the euro is still an attractive currency and once again reminds us that in europe we are stronger together. adopting the euro will bring tangible benefits to croatia's four million citizens, building on the broader positive impact the euro has had over the last two decades. as an anchor of stability, the euro has advanced european integration and strengthened the single market's role in driving growth. this, in turn, has elevated the eu's standing as the world's largest trading bloc and enhanced our autonomy on the global stage. the euro has also become a binding symbol and integral part of our shared european identity, as its popularity shows. support for the euro and for economic and monetary union has now reached an all - time high of 80 %. 2 but with rising geopolitical tensions in the global economy3, a stable euro will become even more important in ensuring that europe continues to thrive. and for that to happen, we need to double down on the work that remains to complete our economic and monetary union. here, every european policymaker needs to contribute. let me mention three areas where progress can be made in the next 12 months before the eu elections in 2024. first, work on strengthening euro area financial integration needs to proceed. the ecb is playing its part, notably by ensuring european banking supervision is effective and consistent. and we promote financial integration through

christine lagarde : european parliament plenary debate on the ecb annual report introductory statement by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, at the plenary session of the european parliament, brussels, 8 february 2021. * * * honourable president of the european parliament, executive vice - president of the commission, honourable members of the european parliament, i am pleased to join you today for the plenary debate on your draft resolution on the ecb annual report. the circumstances could hardly be more different from my first appearance here last year. the pandemic has confronted us with a serious public health and economic crisis. the start of vaccination campaigns provides hope. but people across europe are still facing the dire social and economic consequences of the virus and the future remains uncertain. in these circumstances, a close dialogue between the eu institutions is essential for charting a clear way forward and reaching a common european response to common challenges. this parliament has ensured that the views of european citizens are heard and acted upon as the eu is tackling the crisis. parliamentary resolutions like the one we are debating today represent an important occasion for us at the ecb to reflect on how we can best deliver on our mandate for the benefit of all europeans. this is also the objective of our ongoing strategy review. i have repeatedly emphasised my ambition to listen more attentively to people from across the euro area. so i am very pleased to announce to you that we will publish the key findings from our “ ecb listens portal ” today. 1 i would like to thank the almost 4, 000 citizens who responded to our consultation and shared their concerns about inflation developments, the current economic crisis and the impact of climate change. together with you and commission executive vice - president valdis dombrovskis, i will start by looking back at the unprecedented economic crisis that europe experienced last year and how the ecb responded. i will then look at the prospects for this year, before discussing some of the policy challenges we face in ensuring a strong recovery from the pandemic and how to manage the transition to a greener and more digital economy. the year behind us : responding forcefully to an unprecedented crisis 2020 will be remembered for the pandemic, which led to an unprecedented economic contraction. the european institutions and the eu member states reacted swiftly, creatively and resolutely, and the ecb played a vital role. our monetary policy response was centred around two key pillars. first, in march