terms of growth and job creation from these necessary reforms. this is a reasonable approach to further the implementation of the lisbon strategy in a context where structural reform is the responsibility of member states. in the absence of sufficient progress in structural reform, weak productivity growth has contributed to the low growth performance observed in the euro area in recent years. in the 1980s, the annual growth rate of labour productivity per hour worked was on average 2. 3 % in the euro area. it significantly decelerated during the 1990s to reach an average of 1. 2 % over the period 1996 - 2003. as a consequence, the gap with the united states has widened over recent years. more specifically, since the mid - 1990s, the gap in labour productivity growth between the united states and the euro area was on average 0. 7 percentage point when measured per hour worked. however, it was nearly twice as large when measured per head due to considerable divergences in trends in average working hours between the two economies. alongside further progress on reforms directed towards higher rates of labour utilisation in the euro area, developments in recent years reinforce the need to implement policies aimed specifically at boosting labour productivity. in this respect, one of the main priorities of the lisbon agenda is to encourage innovation and technological diffusion, which are among the key factors affecting long - term productivity growth. first, policies should aim at easing regulations. regulations limiting product market competition or hindering labour market adaptability have negative repercussions on innovation and technological advancements. eu countries made significant progress in product market reforms during the 1990s, but significant barriers to competition and innovation remain, in particular in the service sectors, which urgently need to be tackled. the ecb would strongly back the commission ’ s initiatives in that respect. second, policies should promote investment in research and development, which is also an important driver of innovation. third, policies should aim at improving human capital. technological advancements imply that labour skills change over time. therefore, measures favouring the continuous development of human capital contribute to further innovation, facilitate the use of advanced technologies and allow technical change to translate into more jobs. to conclude, the lisbon agenda incorporates the relevant priorities to promote long - term productivity growth as a key condition to making europe more competitive and dynamic. the ecb supports governments, parliaments and social partners who are courageously implementing these necessary reforms. i am now ready to answer your questions.

banking system. in our economy, banks play such a dominant role that non - standard measures need to be implemented – first and foremost – through the intervention and with the active participation of banks. this is why i have sometimes referred to our non - standard measures as those of enhanced credit support. they aim at supporting banks in providing credit to firms and households on an ongoing basis. this goes a long way towards explaining events in the past. as regards the possible further additional non - standard measures, i have been very clear. on behalf of the governing council, during my last press conference in frankfurt : we will decide in our next monetary policy decision governing council meeting on 7 may. and it is on 7 may that i will make public the decision of the governing council. at this stage, as a porte - parole of the governing council, i think it is important not to create or encourage expectations. be sure that what we will decide will fully take into account the financing structure of the euro area economy and will be fully in line with our medium term strategy. when taking all our decisions, we are inspired by our remit to provide a solid nominal anchor for the economic system. as you know, the ecb ’ s quantitative definition of price stability is a key element of its monetary policy strategy. we define price stability as a year - on - year increase in consumer prices of below 2 % over the medium term. in 2003 the ecb ’ s governing council clarified that, within its definition, it aims to keep the inflation rate close to 2 % over the medium term. this clarification was aimed at confirming the robust anchor for long - term inflation expectations that the ecb had provided since the setting up of the euro. in the first ten years since the introduction of the euro, the ecb ’ s quantitative definition of price stability has proved to be an invaluable asset, guarding against undesirably high inflation and against deflation. long - term inflation expectations in the euro area, whether based on surveys or extracted from financial indicators, have been and continue to be firmly anchored at levels consistent with our definition of price stability. conclusions more than ever, in the present very demanding circumstances, confidence is key. the global economy was hit in mid - september 2008 by an unprecedented sudden loss of confidence. it was perhaps the first time in economic history that a single adverse event was able, in just a few days, to have a simultaneous adverse effect on all private economic agents in every