european central bank : press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 4 may 2006. * * * ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to our press conference and report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the ecb ’ s governing council. the meeting was also attended by commissioner almunia. on the basis of our regular economic and monetary analyses, we have decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. overall, the information which has become available since our last meeting broadly confirms our earlier assessment of the outlook for price developments and economic activity in the euro area, and that monetary and credit growth remains very dynamic. against this background, the governing council will exercise strong vigilance in order to ensure that risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialise. such vigilance is particularly warranted in a context of ample liquidity and still very low levels of nominal and real interest rates across the whole maturity spectrum, implying an overall accommodative monetary policy stance. for monetary policy to make an ongoing contribution towards supporting growth and employment in the euro area, inflation expectations must be firmly anchored. let me now explain our assessment in more detail, turning first to the economic analysis. the data that have become available since the start of the year point to a re - acceleration of economic growth in the first quarter of 2006, following the moderation observed in the last quarter of 2005. in addition, the latest indicators and survey information point to continued growth in the second quarter and lend support to the scenario of a gradual broadening in economic activity as embodied in the march 2006 ecb staff projections. business confidence is particularly buoyant, which, in principle, bodes well for investment, and the recovery in consumption and employment appears to be proceeding, albeit still gradually. looking further ahead, the conditions remain in place for continued growth over the coming quarters. activity in the world economy is expected to remain strong, providing continued support for euro area exports. investment growth should benefit from an extended period of very favourable financing conditions, balance sheet restructuring, and gains in earnings and business efficiency. consumption growth should also strengthen over time, in line with developments in real disposable income, as the labour market situation continues to improve. this favourable outlook for economic growth is broadly in line with available forecasts from international organisations and the private sector. considering the information available, risks to this scenario

vitor constancio : strengthening european economic governance – surveillance of fiscal and macroeconomic imbalances speech by mr vitor constancio, vice - president of the european central bank, at the brussels economic forum, brussels, 18 may 2011. * * * thank you very much for the invitation to participate in this panel today. the session is intended to focus on “ surveillance of fiscal and macroeconomic imbalances ”, which arguably is the most important strand of the economic governance package. but one should consider that this package – beyond the 6 legislative acts – also contains three other strands : the euro plus pact, the creation of the european stability mechanism and the setting - up of the european system of financial supervision. a fundamental strengthening of economic governance in the euro area requires simultaneous progress in all three areas. the first strand is necessary to prevent and correct imbalances ; the second to ensure the conditions for future growth and competitiveness ; the third to provide a last resort backstop if crises still occur, the fourth to guarantee financial stability, in particular in the banking sector. that said, prevention and correction of fiscal and macroeconomic imbalances must be given priority as it is the pre - condition for sustainable economic growth and financial stability. as the ecb has stressed on a number of occasions, here a “ quantum leap ” forward is needed in strengthening the stability and growth pact and creating an effective new framework for surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances. important negotiations are ongoing between the commission, the council and the european parliament to reach agreement on the legislative package of economic governance reforms. for this agreement to reach the necessary “ quantum leap ”, the following elements are essential. first, greater automaticity is needed in all surveillance procedures, including the new macroeconomic surveillance framework. the council should have less room for halting or suspending procedures against member states. strict deadlines to avoid lengthy procedures and the deletion of escape clauses would also contribute to automaticity. this is critical to ensure the credibility of the new framework and address spillovers in a timely manner. second, enforcement tools need to be more effective. in addition to financial sanctions, political and reputational measures would help foster early compliance, as would the application of earlier and more gradual financial sanctions within the macroeconomic surveillance framework. discretion to reduce or suspend financial sanctions is undesirable as it strongly reduces effectiveness and sets the wrong incentives. third, more ambitious policy requirements would better match the current reality of the euro area.