mario draghi : ecb press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, and mr vitor constancio, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 26 april 2018. * * * 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. based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided to keep the key ecb interest rates unchanged. we continue to expect them to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of our net asset purchases. regarding non - standard monetary policy measures, we confirm that our net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of €30 billion, are intended to run until the end of september 2018, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the governing council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim. the eurosystem will continue to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the asset purchase programme for an extended period of time after the end of its net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary. this will contribute both to favourable liquidity conditions and to an appropriate monetary policy stance. following several quarters of higher than expected growth, incoming information since our meeting in early march points towards some moderation, while remaining consistent with a solid and broad - based expansion of the euro area economy. the underlying strength of the euro area economy continues to support our confidence that inflation will converge towards our inflation aim of below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. at the same time, measures of underlying inflation remain subdued and have yet to show convincing signs of a sustained upward trend. in this context, the governing council will continue to monitor developments in the exchange rate and other financial conditions with regard to their possible implications for the inflation outlook. overall, an ample degree of monetary stimulus remains necessary for underlying inflation pressures to continue to build up and support headline inflation developments over the medium term. this continued monetary support is provided by the net asset purchases, by the sizeable stock of acquired assets and the ongoing and forthcoming reinvestments, and by our forward guidance on interest rates. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. real gdp increased by 0. 7 %, quarter on quarter,

gertrude tumpel - gugerell : european financial integration and harmonisation speech by ms gertrude tumpel - gugerell, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the international bankers ’ club, luxembourg, 16 june 2008. * * * ladies and gentlemen, first of all, i would like to thank mr. carlo thill and the board of directors of the international bankers ’ club luxembourg for having invited me to speak on this occasion today. i am very glad to be here and to share my views with such distinguished audience of the international bankers ’ club luxembourg, who has always shown a strong interest in european union matters. in my speech today i will focus on the need for european financial integration and harmonisation, and on the ecb ’ s endeavours to support these objectives, in particular through two important central banking services : target2 and target2 - securities. let me say that it is always a pleasure to be in luxembourg, a country whose historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a roman era fortress site, a country that represents the junction between roman europe and germanic europe, uniting customs drawn from each of these rather distinct traditions. luxembourg has proved to be a pioneer. it was a founding member of the european union, the united nations, and participated in the emu from its first day in 1999. the evolution of the city as a significant financial centre has strengthened its character as an international metropolis. as jean monnet said : " the small city has become a cross - road of europe ". i see luxembourg as a microcosm of the europe of tomorrow and i sincerely hope that its success, with the highest gdp per capita in the world, will inspire other parts of europe. in that respect, my topic of creating a single european financial market is very relevant since it will help to increase economic growth and prosperity in every member state. it will increase consumer choice, open a multitude of new investment opportunities, strengthen the eu banking sector and make europe a centre for financial innovation. i am sure you share this ambition – but the question – of course – arises how we can make it happen? well, as the proverb says : “ where there ’ s a will there's a way ”. that means, we all have to be determined to undergo the necessary changes that will lead to an integrated and harmonized european financial market. that seems the only “ way ” to go! let me be clear. the single european financial market