Today Mario Draghi goes up in front of the European Parliament. Here's what to look out for

The Draghtser is up in front of the European parliament today to talk over the ECB's annual report for 2014. Here's five things to note about the session;

  1. Most calendars cite it starting at 16.00 GMT. The EC show it starting at 18.00 GMT.
  2. There can be opening remarks from someone like Constancio
  3. When Draghi steps up he usually reads the latest ECB governing council meeting statement before delving into the annual report
  4. Draghi then faces questions from parliament members and this is where we will get any relevant comments on current policy, outlook etc
  5. You can watch Draghi live here when it starts

In the years I've been covering this there's always a bit of confusion as to when things start and finish, and who may pop up with comments and when. The debate may start at 16.00GMT with his opening statement (the ECB meeting one) and then they'll debate it, and he'll answer questions after sometime after. The long and short of it is that nothing is going to be exactly on the clock to the minute. We'll have our ears to the ground from 16.00 GMT in readiness. The least important part is the fact the subject matter is about 2014.

As for Draghi speaking, last year he was quite upbeat on the economy and could do so again. After all, he's got to show that all the ECB's policies are doing something. I'm expecting him to continue the theme of seeing moderate signs of a recovery tagged with the usual dose of downside risks. He'll repeat the mantra that the ECB will do whatever it takes and will repeat his rhetoric on acting in March. He shouldn't stray too far from the last ECB meeting script but we should always be ready for him to emphasise a point and one of those will be Europe pulling its fingers out on fiscal reforms

The Q&A can be quite fun as some of the members can get a little hot under the collar, particularly the opponents of QE.

It's not often a big market mover but it comes at a time when there's expectations for the March meeting and there's scope for Draghi to ram home his message further

Draghi set for one of his annual EU grillings