european central bank : press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 2 february 2006. * * * ladies and gentlemen, allow me to welcome you to our press conference and report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the ecb ’ s governing council. the meeting was also attended by commissioner almunia. on the basis of our regular economic and monetary analyses, we have decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. we have also concluded that the most recent information from the economic analysis broadly underpins our assessment of the outlook for price developments and the euro area economy, and that monetary and credit growth remains strong and liquidity ample. against this background, we will exercise vigilance so as to ensure the solid anchoring of long - term inflation expectations at levels in line with price stability. such vigilance is also warranted, given the historically low levels of both nominal and real interest rates across the whole maturity spectrum and the overall accommodative stance of monetary policy. in order for monetary policy to make an ongoing contribution towards supporting growth and employment in the euro area, inflation expectations must be firmly anchored. let me now explain our assessment in more detail. turning first to the economic analysis, recent data continue to lend support to the scenario for economic activity embodied in the december 2005 eurosystem staff projections. hence, our assessment of the outlook for growth in the euro area has been broadly confirmed. economic activity started to improve and broaden in the second half of 2005 and, on the basis of the latest indicators and survey data, it appears that this process has basically continued, taking into account the usual degree of volatility of quarterly growth rates. looking ahead, the conditions remain in place for economic growth to continue over the coming quarters. the external environment is favourable, providing support for euro area exports. investment is expected to remain strong, benefiting from an extended period of very favourable financing conditions, balance sheet restructuring, and accumulated and ongoing gains in earnings and business efficiency. consumption growth should also strengthen over time, in line with developments in real disposable income, as the labour market situation gradually improves. this outlook for economic activity is also confirmed by available forecasts. downside risks to economic growth, relating, in particular, to persistently high and volatile oil prices and concerns about global imbalances, still dominate on the external side. in relation to price developments

s debt was already restructured twice in 2012, with its private debt cut in half and its public debt undergoing extensive restructuring, with a prolongation of maturities and a cut in rates, which already represents an improvement of the terms of the debt. therefore the question is : “ is a third round of debt relief for greece necessary? ”. and the answer is : “ yes ”. moreover, during the eurogroup discussions and the discussions that we are having at the moment, the ecb has approved an analysis of the sustainability of the greek debt which was carried out with the european commission and the european stability mechanism, which shows indeed that there are serious concerns about the sustainability of the greece ’ s debt, if there are no relief measures. so the ecb agrees with this diagnosis : relief measures are needed to reduce greece ’ s debt and put it back on a sustainable path. the eurogroup is committed to this and i welcome this decision. it ’ s very new for the ecb to speak out in this way … no, we ’ ve said it, the ecb ’ s president has said it. it ’ s new because greece ’ s situation has changed. and the longer the situation is drawn out, the more urgent the need to alleviate the greek debt becomes. but, again, it is no substitute for the reforms which are needed to restore growth and productivity to the greek economy. it is a supporting measure. what is truly needed to put greece back on a growth trajectory is reform. turning our attention to france, is the proposed new labour law, known as the el khomri law, a good reform? let me say that, seeing this from frankfurt, and from a european point of view, the tone of the french debate is sometimes a little surprising. this law is described in the french debate, as an ultra - liberal law. in fact, if you look closely, there are elements of flexibility, elements of decentralised decision - making, and there are also elements of additional rights for employees. from a european perspective, it is somewhat surprising that people in france are concerned about a labour market reform process which has been conducted elsewhere in europe, by governments of both left and right – i can think of the italian government as an example. the el khomri law is in keeping with the reform of the labour market in europe ; it ’ s a law that will create jobs ; it ’ s not a law that disadvantages young people, as i