necessary, we could cut interest rates further. we could increase the volumes in our asset purchase programme. we could further improve the conditions for our targeted longer - term refinancing operations, the tltros. we have definitely not exhausted all our options. we have scope to take further action, and we will take further action should it become necessary. but it ’ s also clear, as i said, that the negative side effects are becoming ever more pronounced. what ’ s more, in the current environment, with interest rates very low for longer, fiscal policy would have a much bigger impact on the economy than would otherwise be the case. in an emergency, would helicopter money be an option for the ecb, meaning that the central bank would give money to euro area citizens? helicopter money is not something we are considering. but there ’ s something else i ’ d like to make clear. we just decided on a package of measures in september. that ’ s not something you can do every month or two. we shouldn ’ t undermine the package now by speculating about possible next steps. the package is appropriate and we believe that it will be effective. criticism of the package was particularly loud in germany – just as it has been of the ecb ’ s actions more generally over the past few years. can christine lagarde as ecb president repair the relationship with germany? germany is of course very important for the ecb. germany is the biggest country in the euro area, and the biggest economy. we need to pay attention to what is happening in germany and to the public mood. i ’ m sure that president lagarde will manage to build up a good relationship. she has already said that she wants to review the ecb ’ s strategy. what does that mean in concrete terms, and what would you consider to be the priorities? it will certainly cover various aspects. one aspect is price stability – what price stability means and how we define it. it will also cover the symmetry of our aim. our reaction function is another aspect – in other words, how we react when we don ’ t meet our objective. i ’ m sure the discussion will be a lengthy process. it ’ s not something that can be decided in one or two governing council meetings. will it be an extensive undertaking like it was last time, back in 2002 – 03? we will certainly be gathering a great deal of information and input. just look at what the federal reserve is doing. it

’ s future, naturally if the countries concerned fail to take appropriate action. in the face of a challenge of this nature, it is crucial to implement the new version of the pact for stability and growth in a stringent manner. the pact is essential from the standpoint of the economic and monetary union ’ s cohesion, and in that connection it is one of the keystones of confidence in europe ’ s economic stability, thus one of the keystones of investment and growth. so it is necessary to work with determination on budget consolidation and on bringing down the public debt in order to take on the challenge of an ageing population and to safeguard the credibility of the european budgetary framework. mr president, ladies and gentlemen, europe is facing today five major challenges. three of them are major challenges that equally apply to all the long industrialised countries. the last two others are specific to europe and do not exist anywhere else in the world. the diagnosis is now clear as regards the first three challenges – the challenge of new technologies, the challenge of globalisation, the challenge of population ageing – which does not mean either that they are easy to solve … for the first challenge, facilitate the deepening and broadening in the whole economy of science and technology, in particular - but not only - of information technologies. for the second, organise the new economic framework stemming from the generalisation of the market economy and the very fast economic development of asian emerging countries. for the third, draw the consequences of population ageing in order to ensure the sustainability of public finances. the us, canada and other industrialised countries must tackle the same issues. but in addition – and this is a unique situation in the world, a privilege and at the same time a great historic responsibility – europe must face two other challenges. on one hand, europe has engaged into a long - term process aimed at ensuring its unity on the basis of a voluntary union between states. these states share in common some elements of their sovereignty and have already decided to create a single market with a single currency. this is a very ambitious historic transformation. on the other hand, europe must a the same time meet the challenge of a rapid geographic expansion of an immense historical magnitude. we were still 12 countries when the maastricht treaty was negotiated. we are now 25, and virtually already 27. in europe, are therefore intertwined a unique “ vertical ” economic and political transformation and a geographic “ horizontal ” expansion of an immense significance. five