accommodative for an extended period and will contribute to the euro area ’ s growth outlook, both short - term and long - term. it has been recently argued that there has not been danger of a deflationary spiral in the euro area. i for one have to say that i don ’ t remember or see it that way in light of the empirical evidence. for instance, the european commission in 2013 – 14 was very concerned about the spectre of deflation, and expressed that also publicly. on its part, in january 2015, the ecb launched an expanded asset purchase programme, since the degree of monetary accommodation prevailing at the time was insufficient to adequately address the heightened risks of a prolonged period of low inflation. hicp inflation had indeed been below 1 % since october 2013, and the reasons for low inflation, which were long seen only as temporary, started to indicate second round effects with a deflationary impact. in january 2015, the overall hicp inflation rate was only at 0. 6 %. moreover, the markets were pricing negative inflation in the time horizon of 2 - 3 years with the probability of about 50 %. the degree of monetary policy accommodation was examined and reinforced many times since then. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches only in june 2018 was the governing council able to conclude that progress towards a sustained adjustment in inflation had been substantial. the threat of a deflationary spiral was subsequently avoided. a key lesson of monetary policy of the last 10 years is that timely action is essential to avoid the zero lower bound and an extended period of too low inflation. we don ’ t want to be in the midst of a deflationary spiral until we take action. this is also one of the key lessons of the japanese experience. fast - forward to early 2019. due to the rapidly worsening outlook, the normalisation of monetary policy that started in june 2018 had to be put on hold. the decisions to restart the easing phase in march this year and to resume the net asset purchases in september were timely and taken in response to the continued shortfall of inflation with respect to our aim. ladies and gentlemen, while i have focused on monetary policy, many factors that weaken the economic outlook originate beyond its realm. yet the connection between seemingly non - monetary challenges and risk factors on the one hand, and monetary policy on the other, is actually much stronger than initially appears. this is because many of these challenges, if more permanent, have the potential of affecting

the interbank market close to the bank of albania ’ s key interest rate. this change enhances the efficiency and transparency of monetary policy and promotes the further development of the interbank market. the bank of albania has taken all the necessary measures to successfully implement this project. * * * in its discussions today, the supervisory council of the bank of albania concluded that in absence of unanticipated shocks, cpi inflation will be in line with the bank of albania ’ s target in the medium - term. in addition, the supervisory council concluded that the monetary conditions are fully adequate to observe this target. in conclusion, the supervisory council decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 5. 25 percent. this decision is considered appropriate for the situation the albanian economy is in, providing at the same time the necessary monetary conditions for sustaining its sound development. concerning the future, the bank of albania remains fully committed to consider and follow up the actual and expected performance of economic indicators in view of maintaining price stability and firm up macroeconomic balances at home. the bank of albania invites all economic stakeholders to join this philosophy and provide their contribution to the stable and long - term growth of albania.