confidence that the euro will prove a stimulus for further economic and financial integration. the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins has not only enhanced price transparency, it will also highlight the fact that the european single market is not yet complete and that a number of regulatory, administrative or legal impediments to the free circulation of goods, the cross - border provision of services and to labour mobility still exist. it is my belief that the euro, as a visible symbol of european identity in everyday life, will increasingly bring these obstacles to light and stimulate efforts to eliminate them. in this way, the euro will accomplish one of the pre - eminent functions of the single currency, namely to " crown " the establishment of a single market in europe. finally, i should like to mention that this is my last appearance in this forum as vice - president of the ecb. i should like to thank the members of the committee on economic and monetary affairs for the very fruitful exchange of views, both in the context of my presentation of the ecb's annual report and on other occasions. this committee has indeed played an important role in bringing the euro closer to the citizens of europe.

benoit cœure : low interest rates are not inevitable opinion piece by mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in les echos, 9 november 2016. * * * after nearly a decade of crisis, the euro area is once again experiencing growth. in volume terms, gdp now exceeds its 2008 level and the unemployment rate has posted a steady decline. monetary policy has been instrumental in supporting this welcome recovery. but the improvement is too feeble to be a cause for true rejoicing. and some observers are concerned about the consequences of low interest rates on financial stability and profitability in the financial sector. is monetary policy facing an efficiency problem? or is it actually dangerous? the answer is clearly no. let ’ s remember where we ’ re coming from. the euro area experienced a sovereign debt crisis coupled with a banking crisis, which shattered confidence and precipitated a double - dip recession in our continent at a time when other major economies were already recording positive growth. today, high debt levels are still holding back the recovery and non - performing loans weigh heavily on the balance sheets of many of our banks. headwinds have also emerged – this time from the external side – as a result of weakening global economic activity. since 2014, net exports have made practically no contribution to euro area growth. that means that we have only our own strengths to rely on to sustain growth. finally, and most importantly, our economies are suffering the effects of an erosion of long - term growth prospects and a relative increase in the global supply of savings. long - term growth in the euro area has halved since the crisis, to less than 1 % a year. these factors – the origins of which are in part technological and demographic – have played a part in reducing the “ natural ” level of interest rates that is consistent with balanced growth and price stability over a longerterm perspective. this is crucial : to support a given growth trajectory, monetary policy must be more accommodative than before. without our exceptional measures, growth would be weaker, the unemployment rate higher and inflation would be zero or even negative. the ecb will continue to support the recovery of the euro area in an uncertain international climate. a highly accommodative monetary policy remains appropriate, and will continue to be appropriate until inflation is firmly back on track and heading towards 2 %. the side effects of our measures are at present limited and give us no reason to question their