mario draghi : ecb press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 3 july 2014. * * * 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. the latest information signals that the euro area economy continued its moderate recovery in the second quarter, with low rates of inflation and subdued monetary and credit growth. at the same time, inflation expectations for the euro area over the medium to long term continue to be firmly anchored in line with our aim of maintaining inflation rates below, but close to, 2 %. the combination of monetary policy measures decided last month has already led to a further easing of the monetary policy stance. the monetary operations to take place over the coming months will add to this accommodation and will support bank lending. as our measures work their way through to the economy, they will contribute to a return of inflation rates to levels closer to 2 %. concerning our forward guidance, the key ecb interest rates will remain at present levels for an extended period of time in view of the current outlook for inflation. moreover, the governing council is unanimous in its commitment to also using unconventional instruments within its mandate, should it become necessary to further address risks of too prolonged a period of low inflation. we are strongly determined to safeguard the firm anchoring of inflation expectations over the medium to long term. as a follow - up to the decisions taken in early june, the governing council today also decided on specific modalities for the targeted longer - term refinancing operations ( tltros ). the aim of the tltros is to enhance the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism by supporting lending to the real economy. a press release on the modalities for the tltros will be published today at 3. 30 p. m. as announced last month, we have also started to intensify preparatory work related to outright purchases in the abs market to enhance the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. real gdp in the euro area rose by 0. 2 %, quarter on quarter, in the first quarter of this year. economic indicators, including survey results available up to june

to the value chain for the more advanced countries of the region. japan and korea are already using asean countries and china as the platform for production of goods in a cost effective way while providing design, technology, specifications and taking care of marketing and sales. malaysia is beginning to feel the pinch of labor shortages and is looking towards south asian countries for relieving this pressure. singapore and malaysia are capital surplus countries with high foreign trade - gdp ratios and limited domestic markets. they are now looking towards the middle classes of south asia whose incomes are rising fast and whose appetite for goods and services is voracious. india alone is adding about 2 million cellular phone subscribers every month while pakistan has increased the size of cellular phone market from 3 million to 8 million within just one year. this example can be multiplied for fast moving consumer goods, energy, infrastructure, services of all kinds. thus investment in these countries can be beneficial for both the capital surplus and large market size countries. central asia has huge energy resources but is geographically disadvantaged as it is landlocked. infrastructure development providing access to seaports as well as gas pipelines, hydroelectric power transmission lines can make their economies more competitive and at the same time ease the energy shortages in india and pakistan. china, because of its tremendous success, is facing or likely to face growing restraints and impediments in expanding access to the western markets for its manufactured goods. joint ventures between chinese companies and relocation in other parts of the region with low costs of production combined with availability of ample labor would be in the economic interest of both china as well as the recipient countries. india ’ s proven prowess in information technology, internet - related services, biotechnology and other intellectual fields can be used to enhance the productivity across the board in all the countries of asia. given the growing demand of skills among the asian economies the inter operability of skilled manpower across the territorial boundaries of each individual country will help meet this demand. this above scenario is doable in my view but it requires a shared vision, a long term strategy, political will and commitment, a time bound action plan, an institutional mechanism for implementation and monitoring, and a machinery for follow up, dispute resolution, and problem solving. if the foreign ministers present at islamabad this week can proceed along this road map i am quite confident that all the countries in region will be winner and nobody will be loser. historians will then rightly describe 21st century as the asian century just like the past three centuries were the american and european centuries