also on the basis of low interest rates all along the money market yield curve, providing attractive financing conditions, the economy is expanding and we see a positive growth outlook. i will also outline which policies – in my view – are needed for the recovery to be sustainable with the prospect of long term growth. first, structural reform policies to strengthen overall growth prospects. second, a financial market sector reform ( which is well on track ), third, fiscal consolidation ( which is also well on track ) and fourth, the continuous concentration of monetary policy to be directed at medium term price stability as this is the necessary and crucial contribution of monetary policy to fostering sustainable economic growth, job creation and financial stability. price stability and financial stability are indispensable elements shaping the outlook for global growth. a third element is sound public finances. but before addressing these issues, let me give you some ideas on what the ecb has done during the crisis. the ecb ’ s actions during the crisis recent years have been most challenging across the globe. what started as tensions in the money market in august 2007 quickly spread around the globe, leading to severe repercussions across economies and markets. after the failure of lehman brothers in september 2008, we saw a sharp fall in global activity. in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, global trade volumes fell by 18 percent. this development was also felt here in china, where year - on - year gdp growth decelerated to 6. 2 % in the first quarter of 2009 from 9. 1 % in the third quarter of 2008 and trade values decreased by 33 % from september 2008 to march 2009. in the euro area, real gdp fell by altogether almost 4. 5 percent and unemployment rose by 1. 4 percentage points in just six months. at the same time, extra - euro area export volumes of goods decreased by 18. 0 % and import volumes by 12. 8 %. the ecb acted quickly and decisively in response to the crisis. we reduced our key interest rates to unprecedented low levels. the interest rate at the main refinancing operations was lowered by 325 basis points to 1. 0 % between october 2008 and may 2009, i. e. within a period of only seven months. and, we have left it unchanged since then. in addition, we introduced a series of non - standard measures to support credit provision by banks to the euro area economy. our non - standard measures were designed to sustain financing conditions

, make the development of a comprehensive macroprudential supervision absolutely essential. ecb monthly bulletin, july 2010. an effective macro - prudential framework aims at delivering a thorough analysis of systemic risks, as well as the formulation of appropriate policies to address such risks identifying, in a timely fashion, the emergence and build up of critical vulnerabilities, and deciding on effective ( pre - emptive ) intervention. central banks have a very important role in this regard. at the european level, a new body will be set up : the european systemic risk board ( esrb ), which will be an independent body responsible for conducting macro - prudential oversight of the eu ’ s financial system as a whole and which will be supported analytically and logistically by the ecb. the esrb should be seen as a component of a global framework of macro - prudential oversight, also allowing it to contribute to the assessment and containment of global risks. in this sense, systemic risk surveillance and preventing those risks from materializing will be a key contribution to sustainable long term growth prospects. conclusion let me conclude. the global crisis of the last years has shown that policymakers around the globe have acted successfully. confidence has come back. with our policy actions, we at the ecb have supported credit flows to the economy and thus dampened the negative effects of the crisis to the extent possible. looking ahead, we now need to draw lessons from the crisis and focus on the elements that ensure that the global recovery is sound and sustainable. for this, i believe four elements are essential. these are strengthening growth prospects, fiscal sustainability, price stability and financial stability. for price stability and financial stability, central banks play a key role. they will shape the global recovery by maintaining price stability and safeguarding financial stability. price stability is the central contribution that monetary policy makes to economic growth, to job creation and to financial stability. financial stability, in turn, will be a major focus of policy - makers in the aftermath of the crisis. central banks have specific tasks and responsibilities in this domain. for example, the ecb will contribute to the esrb to conduct macro - prudential oversight at a european level. of course, central banks cannot act alone. actions are required to address all conditions and challenges to spur long term economic growth. we all have to work together. national governments, regulators and supervisors, and the private sector and financial industry have to proceed with the difficult, but vital, measures