provides an excellent opportunity to take stock, reflect on our experiences and listen to a wide range of external voices. 1 for a more detailed discussion, see : lane, p. r. ( 2020 ), “ the monetary policy toolbox : evidence from the euro area ”, speech at the us monetary policy forum, new york, 21 february ; and lane, p. r. ( 2019 ), “ determinants of the real interest rate ”, remarks at the national treasury management agency, dublin, 28 november. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

the successful, widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, innovations in automation and enhanced infrastructure investment ). however, for now the downward pressure on the equilibrium real rate is a significant environmental constraint on the options available to central banks. the low equilibrium real rate has been compounded by weak nominal developments over the last decade. the global financial crisis ( plus the sovereign debt crisis in the case of the euro area ) resulted in a considerable amount of slack in labour markets and capacity utilisation. in the euro area, the post - crisis focus on fiscal consolidation meant that the fiscal stance was not supportive of domestic demand until quite recently. given these forces, the ecb has adopted an accommodative monetary stance, which has been characterised since 2014 by a combination of : ( a ) a negative policy rate ; ( b ) an asset purchase programme ; ( c ) targeted longer - term refinancing operations ( tltros ) ; and ( d ) forward guidance on the path of policy instruments. this policy stance has been successful in warding off deflation risk and, more recently, in supporting a resurgence in wage inflation ( through the accumulated reduction in labour market slack ). however, ongoing monetary accommodation is still required in order to ensure the robust convergence of price inflation to our aim. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches this sustained period of below - target inflation reflects both the extent of post - crisis slack in the economy and the inherent gradualism of inflation adjustment in this environment. in particular, while above - target inflation can be countered by sharp monetary tightening, lower bound limits on policy space mean that policy easing measures must take the form of less - sharp adjustments that are maintained over an extended horizon. a corollary fundamental principle in the design of monetary policy in this environment is that – in order to avoid a long - term de - anchoring of inflation expectations – easing measures must be sufficiently pre - emptive to guard against a further downward drift in inflation dynamics. furthermore, under conditions in which policy rates are likely to rise only gradually over time, fiscal measures have an especially powerful macroeconomic impact, both by providing stabilisation in the event of adverse shocks and by supporting the return of inflation to our aim. in conclusion, i have briefly described some of the forces shaping the ecb ’ s current monetary stance. however, there are still many open questions that are raised by the combination of low interest rates and low inflation. accordingly, this year ’ s review of our monetary policy strategy