area in which quick and decisive progress is indispensable for the countries concerned and for the euro area as a whole. turning to structural reforms, in all countries more efforts are crucial to support sustainable growth and employment as it is likely that the financial crisis has affected the productive capacity of our economies. moderate wage - setting, sufficient labour market flexibility and effective incentives to work are required in order to avoid significantly higher structural unemployment over the coming years. policies that enhance competition and innovation are also urgently needed to speed up restructuring and investment and to create new business opportunities. an appropriate restructuring of the banking sector should also play an important role. sound balance sheets, effective risk management, and transparent as well as robust business models are key to strengthening banks ’ resilience to shocks, thereby laying the foundations for sustainable economic growth and financial stability. 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, frankfurt am main, 5 november 2009. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference today. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council, which was also attended by commissioner almunia. on the basis of its regular economic and monetary analyses, the governing council decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. the current rates remain appropriate. the incoming information and analyses that have become available since our meeting in early october have confirmed our expectations. while annual hicp inflation was - 0. 1 % in october, according to eurostat ’ s flash estimate, it is expected to turn positive again in the coming months and to remain at moderately positive rates over the policy - relevant horizon. at the same time, the latest information continues to signal an improvement in economic activity in the second half of this year. the governing council expects the euro area economy in 2010 to recover at a gradual pace, recognising that the outlook remains subject to high uncertainty. medium to longer - term inflation expectations remain firmly anchored in line with the governing council ’ s aim of keeping inflation rates below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. the outcome of the monetary analysis confirms the assessment of low inflationary pressure over the medium term, as money and credit growth continues to slow down. against this background, we expect price stability to be maintained over the medium term, thereby supporting the purchasing power of euro area households. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. available data and survey - based indicators continue to signal an improvement in economic activity in the second half of this year. in particular, the euro area should benefit from the inventory cycle and a recovery in exports, as well as from the significant macroeconomic stimulus under way and the measures adopted to restore the functioning of the financial system. taking into account all available information, in the second half of this year, quarterly real gdp growth rates could be back in positive territory. however, uncertainty remains high as a number of the supporting factors are of a temporary nature. looking through the volatility of incoming data, the euro area economy is expected to recover at a gradual pace in 2010, as it is likely