vitor constancio : effectiveness of monetary union and the capital markets union contribution of mr vitor constancio, vice - president of the european central bank, for the magazine of the eurofi conference in malta ( 5 - 7 april 2017 ), 4 april 2017. * * * the euro area recovery is continuing at a moderate, but firming pace, and is broadening gradually across sectors and countries. the ecb ’ s monetary policy measures have been a key contributor to these positive developments, and the only expansionary macroeconomic policy in support of the recovery. real gdp growth has expanded for 15 consecutive quarters, growing by 0. 5 % during the final quarter of 2016. dispersion in growth rates across euro area countries has fallen. economic sentiment is at its highest level in nearly six years. the unemployment rate is back down to single - digit figures and over four million more europeans are employed now than three years ago. since the onset of the crisis, the ecb has put in place a number of conventional and unconventional monetary policy measures to stimulate the economy and rehabilitate the monetary transmission mechanism, which had become impaired at the height of the crisis. this comprehensive range of measures has worked its way through the financial system, leading to a significant easing of financing conditions for consumers and firms. together with improving financial and non - financial sector balance sheets, this has strengthened credit dynamics and supported domestic demand. bank lending rates for both euro area households and non - financial corporations have fallen by over 110 basis points since june 2014. lending rates for small and medium - sized enterprises, which provide two - thirds of total private sector employment in the euro area, have declined by over 180 basis points. the sharp reduction in bank lending rates has been accompanied by easier access to funding, as recent ecb surveys on bank lending and access to finance have shown. but it is not just lending rates that are more favourable. bank lending volumes have also been gradually recovering since early 2014. annual growth in credit to euro area households increased in january to 2. 2 % and growth in credit to businesses remained at 2. 3 % – the highest growth rates in more than four years. market - based funding conditions, too, have improved significantly in response to the corporate sector purchase programme launched in june 2016. while monetary policy has been the mainstay of the recovery, there are other potential sources of macroeconomic stabilisation. given the heterogeneity of countries across the euro area, the lack

willem f duisenberg : some remarks on the euro in a us context speech by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at a breakfast meeting of the council on foreign relations, new york, 19 april 2002. * * * introduction it is an honour for me that paul volcker has introduced my presentation this morning. under his chairmanship and that of alan greenspan, the federal reserve has made an invaluable contribution to the well - being of the american people, and to the world economy. paul volcker managed to stop the inflation spiral, which started in the early 1970s, and turned it into a sustained disinflation process. the low inflation record combined with high real growth in the 1990s here in the united states also owe a lot to the courageous and determined policy that paul volcker carried out in the 1980s, which gave clear priority to monetary stability. it is also an honour for me to address such a distinguished audience in the united states. in particular last year, the attention of the european central bank ( ecb ) and the national central banks of the european countries that have adopted the euro – jointly referred to as the eurosystem – was focused on communicating to the 300 million citizens of the euro area the ins and outs of the introduction of the euro, in particular the euro banknotes and coins. at the same time, the ecb realises that it is also important to address audiences outside the euro area and the european union. although we refer to the euro as'our currency ', the impact of the euro goes beyond the boundaries of the euro area. indeed, the euro may be referred to as one of the key currencies in the world, with the eurosystem being the central bank responsible for issuing it. in particular, people on this side of the atlantic may be interested to learn more about the euro. indeed, knowledge of what is happening in europe in this respect still seems to be rather limited. this is partly because, in the 1990s, us commentators were somewhat critical of european policy makers seeking to establish a monetary union. many of these commentators thought the europeans were'building castles in the air '. however, as 1 january 1999 approached, the date when the exchange rates of 11 european countries were irrevocably fixed and the euro was introduced, it became clear that, indeed, something special was happening in europe. in my speech today, i would like to elaborate on some key aspects of the