![ecb.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcn5HPLRtcHMHdUmSPL9iXt3nQX9qyDDWcEFqwMLjhJaW/ecb.jpg)

Last Thursday, the ECB policy meeting report was published in December. And this report clearly showed that the European central bank is facing the future with confidence. Compared to the last meeting - in September - the growth expectations have even been adjusted upwards. And the reason for this may surprise you.

According to the ECB report, the European economy can receive an impulse from an unlikely ally: Donald Trump. The tax cuts of the US president "may have a greater effect than expected on European economic growth," the report said. And here the European central bank took it into account when they adjusted their growth forecast upwards.

The ECB is even more optimistic about the future
![ecb-groei.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYj4z6GFuq24DfmG53Ap7CYbFJCKSpmPxueQdiBiR3Vsq/ecb-groei.png)

In the table above, from Bloomberg, it can be seen that the ECB is currently much more optimistic than was the case at the September meeting. For example, the European central bank is counting on GDP growth this year by 2.3 percent. In September there was still a growth of 1.8 percent in 2018.

In 2019, the European economy will continue to remain well, according to the bankers. For that year, a growth of 1.9 percent is expected (0.2 percent higher than the previous forecast). Surprisingly, the ECB expects constant inflation for both 2018 and 2019.