the credibility of the institutional framework and confidence in the soundness of public finances of member states across the euro area. together with the treaty provisions, the overall fiscal framework of the stability and growth pact remains of central importance and must be fully respected. these are the foundations for trust and confidence in emu. they are key not only to stability but also to growth, and are a precondition for preserving low risk premia in financial markets. we therefore strongly urge governments and the ecofin council to live up to their responsibilities and to the commitments they made last november. finally, the governing council strongly supports ongoing efforts by a number of governments to proceed with structural reforms - in the fiscal domain, and in labour and product markets. building on what has already been implemented, further reforms are required to make the euro area economy more flexible, to allow a better allocation and utilisation of capital and human resources, and to enhance the euro area's growth potential. the process of structural reform would be greatly enhanced if social partners were to fully commit themselves to the objective of making the euro area a more dynamic, innovative and competitive economy. such common efforts should help to better communicate to the public the benefits of effectively responding to the main challenges of the euro area : bringing down the high level of structural unemployment, enhancing the production potential, increasing productivity, reducing the inefficiencies of the tax system as well as preparing the health and pension systems for the ageing of the population. we are now at your disposal for questions.

european central bank : press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, and mr lucas papademos, vice - president of the european central bank, at the press conference held in frankfurt, 8 january 2004. * * * ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first press conference of 2004. let me express the vice - president's and my own best wishes to you all for the new year. we will now report on the outcome of today's meeting of the governing council of the ecb, which was also attended by the president of the ecofin council, mr mccreevy, and commissioner solbes. following our regular economic and monetary analysis, we continue to judge the current stance of monetary policy as appropriate to preserve price stability over the medium term. accordingly, we have decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged at their low levels. the available indicators point to an ongoing economic recovery in the euro area. this assessment has not fundamentally changed. although recent exchange rate developments are likely to have some dampening effects on exports, export growth should continue to benefit from the dynamic expansion of the world economy. import price developments in the euro area should become somewhat more favourable, thereby helping to contain inflationary risks. we will continue to carefully monitor all developments that could affect our assessment of risks to price stability over the medium term. let me now explain our decision in more detail. starting with the economic analysis, recently available indicators confirm that world economic growth is progressing. for the euro area too, the latest information on production and confidence is consistent with an ongoing recovery in economic activity, and the momentum for growth should strengthen in the course of 2004. this assessment is supported by all available forecasts from official and private sources, as well as by developments in the financial markets. on the external side, recent exchange rate developments are having a negative impact on the price competitiveness of euro area exporters, but thus far this should be partly compensated for by the ongoing expansion of global demand. overall, euro area exports should therefore continue to grow. on the domestic side, investment growth should benefit from the ongoing adjustment efforts of firms to enhance productivity and profitability, as well as from the low level of interest rates and generally favourable financing conditions. private consumption should receive support from real disposable income growth, partly due to favourable effects on terms of trade and inflation stemming from the past appreciation of the euro. the short - term risks to