significant spreads between bid rates and the prevailing mro rate. furthermore, the governing council decided, in line with its decision on the 12 - month ltro of 16 december 2009, to fix the rate in the six - month ltro to be allotted on 31 march 2010 at the average minimum bid rate of the mros over the life of this operation. with today ’ s decisions, the eurosystem continues to provide liquidity support to the banking system of the euro area at very favourable conditions, thereby facilitating the provision of credit to the euro area. at the same time, these decisions help to avoid distortions associated with maintaining non - standard measures for longer than needed. the governing council will continue to implement the gradual phasing - out of the extraordinary liquidity measures. in order to counter effectively any threat to price stability over the medium to longer term, the liquidity provided will be absorbed when necessary. accordingly, 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. over recent quarters, the euro area has continued to benefit from the significant macroeconomic stimulus provided and the measures adopted to restore the functioning of the banking system, as well as from the ongoing recovery in the world economy. according to eurostat ’ s first release, in quarter - on - quarter terms euro area real gdp increased by 0. 1 % in the fourth quarter of 2009, after growing by 0. 4 % in the third quarter. available indicators suggest that the economic recovery in the euro area is on track, although it is likely to remain uneven. in particular, a number of special factors are at play, including adverse weather conditions in parts of the euro area in the first quarter of 2010. given this uneven pattern, it is more appropriate to look through the quarterly volatility and to compare growth developments on a half - yearly basis. looking ahead, the governing council expects real gdp growth to remain moderate in 2010, owing to the ongoing process of balance sheet adjustment in various sectors and the expectation that the low capacity utilisation is likely to dampen investment and that consumption is being dampened by weak labour market prospects. this assessment is also reflected in the march 2010 ecb staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area, which foresee annual real gdp growth in a range between 0. 4 % and 1. 2 % for 2010 and between 0. 5 % and 2. 5 % for 2011. compared with the

. i said during my press conference that acting in a firm and timely manner to ensure price stability is warranted. everybody knows that we will do what is necessary to deliver price stability. we are like a crew on a ship. we know where we have to go, there is no doubt about our objective : price stability. what one does not know is whether and when there will be a tempest, whether and when the sea will be calm, whether we will have headwind or tailwind. on this everybody can make up his own mind. and if there are different views in the market, it is because there are different assumptions on what will be necessary for us in order to deliver price stability. but everybody knows that the crew of the ship will take all necessary decisions to arrive at its destination. your comments after the last governing council were interpreted differently by different people. is that something that you actually aim for, that there is no clear signal? what the market has perfectly understood is that we will do whatever is necessary, without tying our hands ex ante. the proof is that inflation expectations are well anchored. opinions might differ on the overall environment, on what will happen exactly in this vast european economy of 315 million people, what will happen in the rest of the world, what are the new chances, opportunities and risks that might appear. acting in a firm and timely manner to ensure price stability is warranted. the ship knows where it goes. sometimes you have to adjust the course of the ship … that ’ s the reason why we do not pre - commit in the medium term. the members of the governing council are often described as belonging to different fractions. some are “ doves ” others are “ hawks ”. to which fraction do you belong? as president of the ecb i am speaking on behalf of the governing council of the ecb. it is an oversimplification to sum up the positions of the various members of the governing council in that fashion. we have a profoundly united governing council, the decision making entity in the ecb is the governing council itself and not any fraction of it. each of us is working as responsible for the stability of the complete euro area, none of us represents any particular interest, any particular economy or nation. moreover, i consider that the collegial wisdom is fundamental, namely each of us is incorporating the wisdom and the views of all the others and reserve the right to change his or her own approach depending on this interaction.