assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. euro area real gdp increased by 0. 3 %, quarter on quarter, in the fourth quarter of 2015, supported by domestic demand, while being dampened by relatively weak export trends. incoming data for the first quarter of 2016 point to ongoing output growth, at a pace broadly similar to that in the final quarter of 2015. looking ahead, we expect the economic recovery to proceed. domestic demand, in particular, continues to be supported by our monetary policy measures. their favourable impact on financing conditions, together with improvements in corporate profitability, is benefiting investment. moreover, our accommodative monetary policy stance, continued employment gains resulting from past structural reforms and the still relatively low price of oil should provide ongoing support for households ’ real disposable income and private consumption. in addition, the fiscal stance in the euro area is slightly expansionary. at the same time, the economic recovery in the euro area is still dampened by the ongoing balance sheet adjustments in a number of sectors, the insufficient pace of implementation of structural reforms and subdued growth prospects in emerging markets. the risks to the euro area growth outlook still remain tilted to the downside. our recent monetary policy decisions have improved overall financing conditions, which should support bis central bankers ’ speeches the outlook for consumption and investment. however, uncertainties persist and relate, in particular, to developments in the global economy and to geopolitical risks. according to eurostat, euro area annual hicp inflation in march 2016 was 0. 0 %, compared with – 0. 2 % in february, reflecting mainly a rise in services price inflation. looking ahead, on the basis of current futures prices for energy, inflation rates could turn negative again in the coming months before picking up in the second half of 2016. thereafter, supported by our monetary policy measures and the expected economic recovery, inflation rates should recover further in 2017 and 2018. turning to the monetary analysis, broad money ( m3 ) continued to grow at a robust pace in february 2016, with its annual rate of growth remaining unchanged at 5. 0 %. as in previous months, annual growth in m3 is mainly supported by its most liquid components, with the narrow monetary aggregate m1 growing at an annual rate of 10. 3 % in february, after 10. 5 % in january. loan dynamics followed the path of gradual recovery observed since the beginning of 2014. the annual rate of change of loans to non - financial corporations ( adjusted for

smaller member states that the larger ones would claim their own seats in the ecb ’ s executive board seem to be confirmed. do you think this fear is justified? answer : this is the responsibility of the executive branches. i will ship that back to the council. what we call for ourselves is full and appropriate implementation of the treaty, which calls for persons of exceptional quality in the field of monetary and financial matters. and i have to say that my colleagues in the executive board are all of exceptional quality as it has been recognised by the european parliament. 36 ) in your prepared statement after the last monetary policy decision, you dropped the word “ vigilance ” in characterising inflation risks. the markets have interpreted this as a signal that interest rates will not be raised in july, but maybe at the beginning or end of august. answer : i will stick to what i said on behalf of the governing council in the last press conference in madrid as well as in my hearing at the european parliament last wednesday. 37 ) the finnish banker bjorn wahlroos suggested in an opinion article published in the financial times on 6 june that turkey and other eu candidate countries be allowed to join the single currency. can you comment on the specific arguments expressed in this article? and in more general terms, has the euro become strong enough to unilaterally replace the national currencies of weak economies, in the same way that the us dollar has replaced the national currency in some poor countries? answer : if a particular country wants to unilaterally adopt the euro, it is up to that particular country. it would be the same with the us dollar or any other currency. but the governing council of the ecb is not committed ; we do not do anything ex ante to facilitate this decision. it is really the responsibility and risk of that particular country. and this country has to realise that this would not be a way to bypass the maastricht treaty. if a country is a member state of the european union and wants to enter in the euro area then this country has to prove the stability of its national currency through the participation in the exchange rate mechanism ii. 38 ) could you tell us the individual salaries of the executive board members of the ecb? answer : the total amount for the executive board was eur 2. 1 million in 2005. there are six of us on the executive board. 39 ) why only the aggregate figure? why not the individual figures? answer : because a