. however, we need to be patient, persistent and prudent in our policy to ensure that inflation remains on a sustained adjustment path. as i have said before, downside risks to the outlook mainly relate to the threat of increased protectionism. a strong and united european union can help reap the benefits of economic 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches openness while protecting its citizens against unchecked globalisation. in leading by example, the eu can lend support to multilateralism and global trade, which have been cornerstones of growing economic prosperity over the past seven decades. but to be successful on the outside, the eu requires strong institutions and sound economic governance at home. thank you for your attention. i am now at your disposal for questions. 1 see “ risk - reducing and risk - sharing in our monetary union ”, speech by mario draghi, president of the european central bank, at the european university institute, florence, 11 may 2018. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

’ s monetary policy and the phasing - out of non - standard measures at our last monetary policy meeting, the governing council undertook a careful review of the progress made so far towards a sustained adjustment in inflation. specifically, we assessed inflation developments against the three conditioning criteria for net asset purchases : convergence, confidence and resilience. 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches as regards convergence, the june 2018 eurosystem staff projections see headline inflation reaching 1. 7 % in each of the next three years. these are the latest in a series of projections which foresee inflation converging towards our inflation aim of below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. our confidence in the inflation path is also rising. first, the range of uncertainty around the inflation projections has narrowed. second, underlying inflation has increased from the very low levels that prevailed in 2016 and is foreseen to rise as the economy continues to expand, capacity utilisation strengthens and labour markets further tighten. finally, on the third criterion, the projected path of inflation appears to be self - sustained, i. e. resilient to a gradual ending of net asset purchases. on the basis of this assessment, the governing council concluded that progress towards a sustained adjustment has been substantial so far and should continue in the period ahead, although some uncertainties persist. we therefore anticipate that after september we will reduce our monthly net asset purchases from €30 billion to €15 billion and will end our net asset purchases at the end of december. this is subject to incoming data confirming our mediumterm inflation outlook. the expected end of the net asset purchases in december 2018 does not mean that our monetary policy ceases to be expansionary. monetary policy will have to continue to accompany the economic expansion for some time. we have therefore reaffirmed our reinvestment policy and enhanced our forward guidance on the key interest rates. we intend to maintain our policy of reinvesting the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the app for an extended period of time after the end of our net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation. and we expect key ecb interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019 and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure that the evolution of inflation remains aligned with our current expectations of a sustained adjustment path. emu governance : taking stock of