Central bankers in the euro zone and around the world are debating what their role should be in the fight against climate change.
"Another possibility would be to pursue a more sophisticated 'tilting strategy' under which the ECB could adjust its monetary policy operations more gradually in line with sustainability considerations," Schnabel said.
The central bank's latest projection, part of a regular forecasting exercise coordinated by the European Central Bank, is above the most recent estimate by the Italian government, which forecast growth of 4.5% in April.
The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down in morning trading while Europe barely moved either side of the positive-negative line after Asia drifted down slightly.