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, 8 september 2016. * * * 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, which was also attended by the commission vice - president, mr dombrovskis. 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 present or lower 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 the monthly asset purchases of €80 billion are intended to run until the end of march 2017, 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. today, we assessed the economic and monetary data which had become available since our last meeting and discussed the new ecb staff macroeconomic projections. overall, while the available evidence so far suggests resilience of the euro area economy to the continuing global economic and political uncertainty, our baseline scenario remains subject to downside risks. our comprehensive policy measures continue to ensure supportive financing conditions and underpin the momentum of the euro area economic recovery. as a result, we continue to expect real gdp to grow at a moderate but steady pace and euro area inflation to rise gradually over the coming months, in line with the path already implied in our june 2016 staff projections. the governing council will continue to monitor economic and financial market developments very closely. we will preserve the very substantial amount of monetary support that is embedded in our staff projections and that is necessary to secure a return of inflation to levels below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. if warranted, we will act by using all the instruments available within our mandate. meanwhile, the governing council tasked the relevant committees to evaluate the options that ensure a smooth implementation of our purchase programme. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. euro area real gdp increased by 0. 3 %, quarter on quarter, in the second quarter of 2016, after 0. 5 % in the first quarter. incoming data point to ongoing growth

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, 2 august 2012. * * * 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, which was also attended by the commission vice - president, mr rehn. based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided to keep the key ecb interest rates unchanged, following the decrease of 25 basis points in july. as we said a month ago, inflation should decline further in the course of 2012 and be below 2 % again in 2013. consistent with this picture, the underlying pace of monetary expansion remains subdued. inflation expectations for the euro area economy continue to be firmly anchored in line with our aim of maintaining inflation rates below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. at the same time, economic growth in the euro area remains weak, with the ongoing tensions in financial markets and heightened uncertainty weighing on confidence and sentiment. a further intensification of financial market tensions has the potential to affect the balance of risks for both growth and inflation on the downside. the governing council extensively discussed the policy options to address the severe malfunctioning in the price formation process in the bond markets of euro area countries. exceptionally high risk premia are observed in government bond prices in several countries and financial fragmentation hinders the effective working of monetary policy. risk premia that are related to fears of the reversibility of the euro are unacceptable, and they need to be addressed in a fundamental manner. the euro is irreversible. in order to create the fundamental conditions for such risk premia to disappear, policymakers in the euro area need to push ahead with fiscal consolidation, structural reform and european institution - building with great determination. as implementation takes time and financial markets often only adjust once success becomes clearly visible, governments must stand ready to activate the efsf / esm in the bond market when exceptional financial market circumstances and risks to financial stability exist – with strict and effective conditionality in line with the established guidelines. the adherence of governments to their commitments and the fulfilment by the efsf / esm of their role are necessary conditions. the governing council, within its mandate to maintain price stability