European Central Bank executive board member Isabel Schnabel has warned that central bank independence faces a growing threat from multiple directions, citing both direct political pressure and deeper structural forces. Speaking at the Fifth Annual Charles Goodhart Lecture in London on 7 May 2026, Schnabel pointed to rising government debt levels risking "fiscal dominance" and a trend toward financial deregulation that could force central banks to prioritise financial stability over their core inflation mandates. Her remarks come amid heightened concern about political interference in monetary institutions globally, including what outgoing US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described as "legal attacks" on the Fed — underscoring what Schnabel called a defining challenge for independent central banking.