jean claude trichet : hearing at the economic and monetary affairs committee of the european parliament introductory speech by mr jean claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at a hearing before the economic and monetary affairs committee of the european parliament, brussels, 7 december 2009. * * * dear madam chair, dear members of the committee on economic and monetary affairs, this is our first meeting since the entry into force of the lisbon treaty. the new treaty is a reason to celebrate : in europe generally, here at the european parliament, but also at the ecb. it will make the union stronger, more effective and more efficient. the powers and responsibilities of the european parliament increase. the ecb formally becomes an institution of the european union, and all its essential features, above all its independence, are confirmed. dans le cadre du nouveau traite, nous nous rejouissons de notre collaboration a venir avec le parlement. la qualite de cette cooperation a ete exemplaire a mes yeux au cours de ces dernieres annees. unsere heutige anhorung ist drei wichtigen themen gewidmet : erstens, unserer einschatzung der aktuellen wirtschaftlichen lage ; zweitens, unserer exit - strategie zum auslaufen der außergewohnlichen geldpolitischen maßnahmen, die wir in dem hohepunkt der krise eingefuhrt hatten ; und drittens, dem thema der systemischen risiken im finanzsystem. 1. economic and monetary developments the economic situation and outlook have continued to improve since my previous hearing before this committee ten weeks ago. the euro area economy shows increasing signs of recovery. economic activity in the third quarter is estimated to have increased by 0. 4 % compared with the previous quarter. in 2010 we expect to see a moderate recovery. this is in line with the latest eurosystem staff projections, which were published last thursday. however, this expectation remains surrounded by a high level of uncertainty. in the view of the governing council, the risks to the outlook remain broadly balanced. as regards price developments, inflation and inflationary pressures have remained low over recent months. in line with our expectations, inflation rates turned positive again in november, reaching an estimated 0

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, 8 april 2010. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council, which was also attended by commissioner rehn. based on its regular economic and monetary analyses, the governing council decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. the current rates remain appropriate. taking into account all the information and analyses that have become available since our meeting on 4 march 2010, price developments are expected to remain moderate over the policyrelevant horizon. the latest information has also confirmed that the economic recovery in the euro area continued in the early months of 2010. overall, the governing council expects the euro area economy to expand at a moderate pace in 2010, in an environment of uncertainty, with the growth pattern possibly being uneven owing to a number of special factors. the outcome of the monetary analysis confirms the assessment of low inflationary pressures over the medium term. all in all, we expect price stability to be maintained over the medium term, thereby supporting the purchasing power of euro area households. 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. we will continue to monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. benefiting from the ongoing recovery in the world economy, the significant macroeconomic stimulus provided and the measures adopted to restore the functioning of the banking system, the euro area economy grew by 0. 4 % in the third quarter of 2009, after a period of sharp decline, while in the fourth quarter real gdp was flat, according to eurostat ’ s second release. available indicators, in particular further positive information from business surveys, suggest that the economic recovery in the euro area continued in the early months of 2010, although it may have been affected by a number of special factors, including adverse weather conditions. as a consequence, euro area real gdp growth is likely to have remained uneven around the turn of the year, making it advisable to look through the quarterly volatility and to compare growth developments on a half - yearly basis. looking