Protester disrupts European Central Bank press conference - as it happened

Graeme Wearden

from on 2015-04-15 18:10 (#7330)

Mario Draghi's press conference in Frankfurt briefly suspended after a protester wearing a t-shirt showing "End the ECB dick-tatorship" threw paper and confetti at Europe's top central banker

7.05pm BST

It's time for a closing summary.

Mario Draghi's press conference in Frankfurt was dramatically disrupted today by an activist, in a protest against the European Central Bank's policies.

Remarkable scenes at today's ECB press conference: http://t.co/XB6i3QSCd4 pic.twitter.com/sCy08at1bq

"Staff from ecb are investigating the incident." these sweet guys did not even have the key to the emergency exit... #ecb #confettigate

What's very concerning to me is that Mario Draghi as ECB president is not actually serving the societies, but imposing rules on them -- without ever being elected," the 21-year-old said.

"This press conference is the little, little bit of democracy that the ECB gave us. I used this opportunity to express my criticism."

``I have my little list in my head of personalities that I think deserve no rest,'' Draghi protester says http://t.co/zujd7U6QkX #ecb

"Now the worries about potential scarcity of government bonds, sovereign bonds to be bought under our purchase programme are just a little exaggerated. We don't see problems. Both direct and indirect evidence and market feedbacks show that there isn't any problem and our programme is flexible enough in any event to be adjusted if circumstances were to change."

"I don't even want to contemplate that. And based on the Greek government leaders' statements this option is not contemplated by themselves as well. So I'm not ready to discuss any possible situation like that."

6.11pm BST

Ms Witt registered as a Vice reporter, according to the Telegraph:

The economics correspondent Pete Spence explains her motives:

Ms Witt said she would continue to engage in "hardcore activism" in response to what she believed was an "undemocratic" ECB. She added that recent protests in Frankfurt during the opening of the ECB's new offices were a reaction to Mr Draghi's leadership. "[He] never got a mandate, never got voted for or elected," she said.

"He imposes policies on these societies that are completely undemocratic," she added. A friend of Ms Witt said she opposes what she describes as "European neo-liberalism", and argued that the ECB cannot act "without a state of surveillance, of police and violence".

Meet Josephine Witt: The activist who posed as a Vice reporter to crash Mario Draghi's party http://t.co/69ZEtn4ttU pic.twitter.com/NcG8qabSFW

5.48pm BST

the leaflet i printed out yesterday, just if anybody asks what i was throwing at #draghi at #ecb #confettigate today! pic.twitter.com/w3VrnWfKZR

If you squint at the photos taken earlier, you can see this is indeed the paper swirling around Mario Draghi's head.

5.36pm BST

Protesters aren't usually verified on Twitter, so I can't confirm whether this actually is today's activist or not: #disclaimer

I would say, the #ecb 's security service is just as good as putins... :) finally outside police station!

The #confetti-attack was not a #femen protest, I'm sorry ladies. I consider myself a freelance-activist. #exfemen #ecb Free Riot!

5.27pm BST

While the credit rating downgrade isn't a surprise, Standard & Poor's has some serious concerns over Greece.

S&P says Greece's economic state is "highly uncertain", and warns that:

"without deep economic reform or further relief, we expect Greece's debt and other financial commitments will be unsustainable".

5.03pm BST

Breaking news: Greece's credit rating has just been cut by Standard & Poor's, which also left the country on a negative outlook.

*GREECE CUT TO CCC+ FROM B-; OUTLOOK NEGATIVE BY S&P

4.55pm BST

For those of you who haven't seen the protest already, this video captures the moment Mario Draghi's opening statement was dramatically disrupted

4.40pm BST

Hopefully the ECB tighten up their security checks, before someone else pretends to be an economics hack.

ECB "the activist registered as journalist for a news organisation she does not represent". No check? "Hello, I'm Alan Qaeda from the Times"

4.37pm BST

The European Central Bank has now issued a formal response:

The European Central Bank's press conference was briefly disrupted by a protester today, who jumped on to the stage and threw confetti. Staff from the ECB are investigating the incident.

Security staff took immediate and effective action.

4.28pm BST

Here is a copy of the paper thrown at Mario Draghi today, accusing the ECB of arrogance and creating human disasters through its policies (thanks to Pete Spence of the Telegraph).

Apparently these are the flyers the ECB protester (said to be Josephine Witt) was throwing pic.twitter.com/C1wdJ27OlP

Associate of Josephine Witt: "it's not a Femen protest today, it's a butterfly one." A protest against European neo-liberalism.

3.57pm BST

Today's incident feels unprecedented in financial circles; I can't recall any central bank protestor getting so close to their target before, especially inside the central bank's own headquarters.

But it's not the first time the ECB has been a target. Last month, 350 people were arrested after protests disrupted the official opening of the new headquarters in Frankfurt, with several police cars set ablaze.

3.30pm BST

Frankfurt police say the protester is a 21-year old woman from Hamburg. She's currently being questioned.

The woman protesting at the ECB today is a 21 year old political activist from Hamburg. Now being held at Police Station no. 5 in Frankfurt.

Police do not know if she is affiliated with any particular political group. Spox says she is unlikely to be charged.

3.21pm BST

The FEMEN activist group have claimed responsibility for the protest.

Feminist activist group FEMEN claims responsibility for #Draghi "crash" at ECB news conference, Protester detained by police

.@DPA: Apparently #ECB protestor was #Femen activist - known for topless protests against #Putin & Strauss-Kahn. Only confetti for Draghi.

3.06pm BST

Confirmation from Reuters:

2.59pm BST

The women who threw paper and confetti at Mario Draghi is now in custody in Frankfurt, according to Bloomberg.

Woman arrested after #ECB protest, Frankfurt police say. Decline to give details on protester identity. (BBG)

2.52pm BST

After the drama:

2.47pm BST

And that's the end of the press conference. Unusually, there is a small ripple of applause -- which Mario Draghi says is "very comforting".

Draghi: "Thank you. Your applause is very comforting."

2.45pm BST

Finally, Draghi takes a question from a group of young people who won a competition to attend today's press conference.

They ask for his views on the employment market today, and the prospects when they enter the labour market in a couple of years.

Draghi says to student : that was best query of the day in re EA labour market. #ECB

2.38pm BST

Draghi in 1 tweet: Oil prices + easing are working, will keep doing QE for a long time, banks and fiscal climate healthier now. Relax guys.

2.38pm BST

Finally, a question about the protest. A journalists asks whether the European Central Bank president is OK, as he seems pretty calm.

You've answered your own question there, Draghi smiles back.

#Draghi: this recovery is conditional on the full implementation of our monetary policy stance

2.32pm BST

Clarification. Another photo just arrived, showing that the protestor was actually saying "End the ECB Dick-Tatorship". A subtle difference.

2.28pm BST

The European Central Bank says it is "investigating" today's protest:

#ECB says it is investigating interruption to press conference. Declines to comment further on Draghi protestor. (BBG)

2.26pm BST

If you're just tuning in, you can watch Mario Draghi's press conference online here. He's now covering weighty monetary policy issues, and their role in underpinning the eurozone recovery.

I think Draghi is now trying to make up for the excitement at the beginning by making the rest of his presser exceptionally boring.

2.23pm BST

Amazingly, no-one has actually asked a question about the protest ("Are you OK, Mr Draghi?" might be a good place to start).

The ECB chief says that the press conference will run for another 10 minutes to make up for the time lost when it was dramatically disrupted.

Draghi letting people ask 10mins more questions 'to make up for the time we lost before'

2.19pm BST

Mario Draghi appears to be unshaken by the incident. He is now fielding questions about the eurozone. He says that he doesn't even want to contemplate the possibility that Greece might default on its debts.

And he points to Spain as a success story, saying it is experiencing a "strong and employment rich recovery, supported by labour market reform".

2.14pm BST

Bloomberg have uploaded a video clip too.

It shows that the protester was shouting "End the ECB dictatorship" before being bundled out.

FULL VIDEO: Mario Draghi attacked by protester --> http://t.co/DKw90GfSD0

2.11pm BST

Mario Draghi's opening statement is now online here (without any reference to the disruption)

2.10pm BST

Here's Associated Press's early take on the protests:

A female protester interrupted the European Central Bank's press conference on Wednesday, screaming "End ECB dictatorship" while she rushed the stage and threw what looked like confetti.

The action happened as ECB President Mario Draghi was delivering opening remarks after the bank's latest policy meeting.

2.02pm BST

Here are photos of the moment that the European Central Bank's press conference was disrupted by a protester shouting "end the ECB dictatorship." [see earlier blogpost onwards]

It shows she threw paper and confetti at the head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, before being carried out of the room:

1.57pm BST

Draghi has also played down concerns that the ECB's QE stimulus programme will struggle to find enough eurozone bonds to buy.

Draghi: Worries about programme implementation are premature and not supported by the evidence so far

1.56pm BST

Draghi is now taking questions from the media - no-one has asked if he's OK following the attack, though.

Asked about Greece, he says that the ECB will support the Greek banks for as long as they are solvent. The ECB has now extended a110bn to the Greek financial sector, he adds.

1.55pm BST

Draghi concluded his statement by warning that the eurozone needs more supply side measures to tackle its high structural unemployment & low potential output growth.

1.52pm BST

Draghi appears completely unruffled by the disruption, and has returned to his statement.

He says the ECB is monitoring inflation closely, and still expects inflation to rise back towards its target in 2016 and 2017.

1.52pm BST

Consensus of my @twitter followers was that accent of protester who attached #Draghi shouting "end #ECB dictatorship" was German.

1.47pm BST

Here's a better photo of the moment that Mario Draghi's press conference was dramatically disrupted a few moments ago.

Protest at ECB press conference - woman jumps on Draghi's desk and shouts 'end the ECB dictatorship' pic.twitter.com/1tLSfDyw6S

1.45pm BST

OK, we're back now -- Mario Draghi is unhurt, and he's continuing with his opening statement.

A remarkable security breach, though -- this press conference is taking place inside the ECB's headquarters.

Unruffled, #Draghi continues presser after security carries off protester. He even sweeps off the confetti tossed by the demonstrator.

1.43pm BST

Protestor interrupting Draghi pic.twitter.com/7e5lB3cr9z

1.41pm BST

The protestor has been removed from the room, and the press conference has been suspended.

Jesus!! Intruder screams 'End #ECB dictatorship!'

1.41pm BST

Mario Draghi has then been dramatically cut off, as a woman rushed to the front press conference repeatedly shouting "End ECB dictatorship. End ECB dictatorship"*

She also threw something at the ECB chief - which looked like paper.

1.39pm BST

Mario Draghi starts cheerfully, saying he's "very pleased" to welcome the media to the press conference.

He confirms that the ECB began its stimulus programme as planned. It is proceeding smoothly.

*very* pleased

1.36pm BST

The press room in Frankfurt is nicely packed...and there's a burst of camera action as Draghi arrives.

1.33pm BST

Angst breaking out across finance Twitter

#WhereIsMario

1.32pm BST

Umm no sign of Mario yet....

Just me or is the presser not on the ECB site yet? Someone did tell Mario it was on Wednesday, right?

1.28pm BST

Mario Draghi's press conference is being streamed live, here.

1.26pm BST

Reminder: we want to hear Mario Draghi's views on his QE programme, Greece, and the state of the eurozone, when the press conference starts in around 5 minutes.

Checklist for #Draghi's press conference: agencies' list update, QE taper chatter, #ECB inflation outlook, Greek (unchanged) situation.

1.16pm BST

A quick recap.

The European Central Bank has voted to leave eurozone interest rates at their current record lows.

Five Questions for Mario Draghi http://t.co/Yr21rEmMm0 via @business

Globally investors should bear in mind this is not the time to fight central banks.

Powerful policies are forcing bond investors to sell bonds back to the central banks and redeploy those assets, and we cannot forget how much this supports risk assets."

#Germany's 10yr bond yields heading towards zero. Just hit fresh life-time low of 0.127% ahead of today's ECB meeting pic.twitter.com/dONuobslJK

"Greece is moving ever closer to the abyss."

The budget figures show "that Greece needs external financing not just to meet redemptions but also to meet its current financing needs," said James Nixon, chief European economist at Oxford Economics in London.

"There's very little appetite in Europe to extend significant lending to Greece, and so that means that effectively there will be a demand for renewed austerity and further fiscal tightening."

Greece misses budget targets for 2014, fueling fiscal concerns http://t.co/vbRfrmXga5

12.50pm BST

It's official: The European Central Bank has voted to leave the key interest rates across the eurozone unchanged, at today's meeting.

12.42pm BST

Heads-up, the ECB is about to announce the decisions on monetary policy taken at today's meeting:

15 mins to @ECB rate decision! (Possibly superfluous exclamation mark there)

12.37pm BST

Slovak finance minister Peter Kazimir has thrown cold water on hopes of a breakthrough in the Greek bailout talks next week.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Bratislava, Kazimir warned that Greece is heading towards 'the abyss".

"Given the we have lost a lot of time, I am sceptical," Kazimir told reporters after a Slovak cabinet meeting when asked if he believed the Riga meeting could bring a breakthrough.

"Greece is moving ever closer to the abyss."

STILL NO PROGRESS ON NEGOTIATIONS WITH GREECE: TIESENHAUSEN

*TRANCHE PAYMENT TO GREECE IN APRIL NOT POSSIBLE: TIESENHAUSEN

*TIESENHAUSEN: CAN ONLY SHAKE HEAD AT GREXIT PREPARATIONS REPORT

12.11pm BST

The damage suffered by the Greek economy in the last four years has been exposed by new fiscal data published by statistics body Elstat this morning.

The figures confirm that Greece's GDP shrank from a207bn in 2011 to a170bn in 2014.

Latest Greek data show govt spending -21% since 2011, nominal GDP -14%, debt/GDP 177%. Maybe austerity isn't working? pic.twitter.com/tcBIUV5QLd

11.27am BST

Today's antitrust charge against Google over its Shopping service could be just the start, says competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

She's briefing reporters in Brussels now, explaining that other services are also under the Commission's microscope as it tries to ensure consumers aren't exploited.

Vestager: if investigation concludes abuse it could set a precedent for a probe into further concerns regarding Google's search functions

Vestager: will look at allegation of Google incentivising tablet manufacturers to prioritise Google products in Android

Vestager: we're looking into Google's results services re hotels, flights

Interesting: @vestager clearly trying to make clear this is not anti-US. Notes complainants are American, too.

11.20am BST

After five years of work, the European Commission has just hit Google with a charge that it abuses its dominant position in the search industry.

The case relates to Google's shopping service; the EC says the search giant stifles competition by favouring its own pages.

"I have also launched a formal antitrust investigation of Google's conduct concerning mobile operating systems, apps and services. Smartphones, tablets and similar devices play an increasing role in many people's daily lives and I want to make sure the markets in this area can flourish without anticompetitive constraints imposed by any company."

11.14am BST

The Eurozone Rumour Mill is grinding hard this morning, with Germany's Die Zeit newspaper claiming that Angela Merkel's government is preparing a plan to keep Greece inside the euro area even if it defaults.

According to Die Zeit, Germany fears that Greece could soon miss a debt repayment, and could be prepared offer concessions if Athens can show its committed to reforms.

German govt declines to comment on "Zeit" report that it is preparing a plan that would keep #Greece in Euro even in case of default. (RTRS)

10.51am BST

The drop in short-term borrowing costs in the eurozone is truly remarkable, with only Greece missing out:

Eurozone two-year yields: either negative, virtually nothing, or 23%. pic.twitter.com/2IsHTJRK0d

10.48am BST

The Greek government has cleared one, rather small, hurdle this morning by auctioning over a800m of three-month debt.

This will cover the cost of repaying three-month bonds which mature soon. The debt was almost certainly bought by Greek banks, who will receive a yield of 2.7% [so Athens must pay much more to borrow until July than Berlin would pay to borrow until 2045]

#Greece counts on T-Bill buyers. Sold a812.5mln of 3mth T-Bills at a hefty 2.7% yield. Bid-to-cover 1.3. pic.twitter.com/p4EC0GTKig

10.47am BST

Update: German's ten-year government bonds just hit a new record high:

10.30am BST

Remarkable scenes in the bond markets today - German 30-year sovereign debt is changing hands at an effective interest rate of just 0.57%.

German 30-year bond yield drops to 0.57% pic.twitter.com/7eqDNL1Bzs

ECB meeting a non-event? If Draghi wants to surprise, he could just say *something* about 1) the deposit rate or 2) the EUR.

9.57am BST

The Turkish lira isn't a pretty sight this morning -- it just hit a record low against the US dollar.

#Turkey's lira falls to record 2.70 per dollar pic.twitter.com/vT0ZrGzvHg /via @markets

USD/TRY2.7046. This isn't pretty. pic.twitter.com/nZqsxewkxH

9.28am BST

Nour Al-Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities in Abu Dhabi, is also keen to hear about how Mario Draghi might end his stimulus programme:

No one is expecting the ECB to change their policy, but questions will be asked about the length of the QE programme if European economies continue to grow more quickly than expected.

Investors will want to know whether the ECB has revised its exit strategy.

9.12am BST

Mario Draghi could send the euro soaring if he gives any suggestion that his QE programme will be curtailed earlier than planned.

Currently the ECB is committed to buying a60bn of government bonds, and other debt, per month until September 2016. But there is speculation that it could 'taper' the plan if it succeeds in driving inflation and growth.

"The Eurozone economy has shown some signs of life in recent months and the central bank chief will almost certainly have to field questions about the possibility that QE will be cut short if growth and inflation mend faster than expected.

Rhetoric opening the door to such a possibility may be interpreted as a relative shift away from the ultra-dovish extreme on the policy outlook spectrum, boosting the Euro."

8.44am BST

The FTSE 100 has just nudged a new record high of 7102 points.

High street chain Next is leading the way, up 2.3% after JP Morgan raised its price target.

New record highs for #FTSE100 approaching the 7,100 level led by $NXT, $FRES $AAL and $BRBY

The big point of interest is the swathe of economic data we saw released from Beijing overnight - headline GDP was as expected at 7%, but a number of other readings fell short of expectations. However, rather than this initiating another rally for local markets, there's growing concern that Chinese stocks are in bubble territory and as a result many traders have remained sidelined.

8.34am BST

Here's your regular reminder of Greece's looming debt repayments, via Mike Bird of Business Insider.

Barclays has released its latest edition of 'pin the default on the payment timeline' http://t.co/xXiMBFNGzL pic.twitter.com/lRagb2gq6J

8.28am BST

I was going to knock up a list of key points to watch out for from the ECB today.... but Bloomberg's Alessandro Speciale has already nailed it.

Here's his list of five key points:

Five Questions for Mario Draghi http://t.co/Yr21rEmMm0 via @business

8.12am BST

European stock markets are inching higher in early trading, as we await the ECB's press conference this afternoon.

Activity indicators, which are regarded as a more accurate picture of the economy, were all weaker in March than expected. Factory output climbed 5.6% in March from a year ago, below forecasts for a 6.9% gain.

Most tellingly, China's power usage declined 3.7% compared with the previous year, the biggest drop since late 2008, when China's economy was hit by the global financial crisis.

8.04am BST

There's an early selloff in Greek bonds this morning, despite the government claiming it will reach a deal with creditors next week.

Traders have driven the yield (or interest rate) on 10-year Greek bonds over 12%, from 11.9% last night.

#Greece 10-year bond yield jumps to 12.23%, a 2-year high. #euro

The Greek government's refusal to proceed with any privatizations, and its pledges to reverse labor-market reform, pension reform and budget savings can't be accepted by the country's creditors, the official said, asking not to be named as talks between the two sides are not public.

7.52am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

The press conference deserves some attention given Mario Draghi could make some positive commentary around signs of improvement in the economy.

"I am absolutely confident an agreement will be reached on 24 April. Deals are always done five or three or one minute before midnight, it's not unusual that they should go right to the brink."

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