european central bank : press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 8 february 2007. * * * ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to our press conference and report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the ecb ’ s governing council. the meeting was also attended by commissioner almunia. on the basis of our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided at today ’ s meeting to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. the information that has become available since our last meeting has further underpinned the reasoning behind our previous decisions to raise interest rates. it has also confirmed that strong vigilance remains of the essence so as to ensure that risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialise. this will permit medium to longer - term inflation expectations in the euro area to remain solidly anchored at levels consistent with price stability. as emphasised on previous occasions, such anchoring is a prerequisite for monetary policy to make an ongoing contribution towards supporting sustainable economic growth and job creation in the euro area. our monetary policy remains accommodative, with the key ecb interest rates still at low levels, money and credit growth vigorous, and liquidity ample by all plausible measures. therefore, looking ahead, acting in a firm and timely manner to ensure price stability in the medium term remains warranted. allow me to explain our assessment in greater detail. turning first to the economic analysis, the latest indicators and survey data suggest that the economic expansion has continued into 2007 and remains solid and broad - based. looking ahead, while some volatility in the quarter - on - quarter growth rates of real gdp cannot be excluded, the medium - term outlook for economic activity continues to be favourable. conditions remain in place for the euro area economy to continue to expand at rates around potential. global economic growth, which has become more balanced across regions, remains robust, providing support for euro area exports. domestic demand in the euro area is expected to maintain its momentum. investment should remain dynamic, reflecting the benefits of an extended period of very favourable financing conditions, balance sheet restructuring, accumulated and ongoing strong earnings, and gains in business efficiency. consumption should also continue to gradually strengthen over time, in line with developments in real disposable income, as labour market conditions – in particular employment growth – continue to improve. risks surrounding this favourable outlook for economic growth are broadly balanced over the

jean - claude trichet : interview with le monde interview with mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, conducted by messrs erik izraelewicz and clement lacombe and ms cecile prudhomme on 27 october 2011, and published in le monde dated 30 – 31 october 2011. * * * new agreements were reached on the night of wednesday 26 october to thursday 27 october by the heads of state and government of the euro area, three months after the summit of 21 july. is this, at long last, the end point of the crisis? this agreement must be applied rigorously and quickly in all its dimensions, including the improvement of governance. decision - makers must strive to be ahead of events, even if the speed of decisions in our democracies is not necessarily that of the markets. a key challenge for the euro area is to communicate with investors and savers in the rest of the world, who have difficulty in deciphering european decision - making. provided that their decisions are implemented quickly, the euro area countries have the means to improve the perception that the rest of the world has of europe. nevertheless, there are still uncertainties … which element needs the greatest vigilance? progress has to be made on all points in a resolute way. in respect of governance, in the past, at the ecb, we have found ourselves preaching in the wilderness, when negligence by governments, markets and by many economists was the rule. we knew a time when markets did not distinguish between the signature of greece and that of germany, when a majority of observers felt that the stability and growth pact was a too tight corset which prevented europe from breathing, and when the whole world believed that imf loans had become useless. that was still the case in early 2007! your successor, mario draghi, has indicated the ecb is going to continue its purchases of government bonds. does this mean he has given in to political pressure? mario has repeated what the council had communicated previously. hasn ’ t the independence of the ecb been affected nonetheless? the question doesn ’ t arise. the treaty requires us neither to receive nor to seek instructions from anyone. we did not ask for permission to take exceptional measures on 9 august 2007 to confront the first waves of financial turbulence! we were criticised by germany and france when we refused to lower rates in 2004, and by ten out of 12 countries when we increased them in december 2005. all