between them. the effectiveness of the program is mainly due to the pioneering flexibility in the composition of securities markets by the eurosystem. the value of securities purchased can fluctuate over time depending on financial conditions. in addition, there is a possibility that the distribution of public sector securities markets may temporarily deviate from the key of each national central bank in the share capital of the ecb ( calculated according to the size of its country ’ s economy ). the pepp emergency program granted greek government securities a derogation from the minimum credit rating requirements of the public sector purchase program ( pspp ), which helped reduce the impact of the pandemic on financial conditions in greece. during the pandemic, the measures adopted before the outbreak continue to apply. in particular, the net purchase of securities continues under the regular extended program ( asset purchase program – app ), which was adopted in 2015 in response to the then financial crisis. the largest market share consists of government bonds under the pspp program. according to the decision of 12 th september 2019, the net monthly purchases conducted for as long as necessary to maintain the accommodative policy rates and will close shortly before deciding on the board that it is necessary to increase the key interest rates εκτ. at the same time, the eurosystem provides ample liquidity to banks through monetary policy operations. in particular, the third series of targeted long - term refinancing operations ( tltro iii ) are conducted on very favorable terms in order to support bank lending to businesses and households and to ensure low borrowing costs for the private sector. in order to facilitate the banks to participate in the refinancing operations, on april 7, 2020 it was decided that the conditions for the eligibility of the securities given by the banks as collateral in the refinancing operations will be less strict, and that the greek government bonds will be accepted. in monetary policy operations as collateral. in detail, the value of the securities held by the eurosystem under the app and pepp at the end of november 2021 exceeds 4. 6 trillion euros. respectively, the total amount of liquidity provision through refinancing operations is 2. 2 trillion euros. as a result, the eurosystem ’ s balance sheet has risen from around € 4. 7 trillion at the beginning of 2020 to almost € 8. 5 trillion in november ( during the same period, the bank of greece ’ s balance sheet has increased from

adopting a symmetrical target helps to shape expectations for future levels of policy and inflation rates. the prevailing perception was that the ecb was pursuing a tighter monetary policy on upward deviations of inflation from the target, while, on the contrary, it was reacting with timid steps and delaying downward deviations. in the current strategy, we emphasize that both the continuous rise and the prolonged fall of prices must be limited immediately and as much as possible. we also recognize in the new strategy that when the economy operates close to the nominal interest rate threshold, particularly strong or persistent use of monetary policy measures is required to prevent the consolidation of negative deviations from the inflation target. this may also mean a transitional period in which inflation is moderately above the 2 % target. therefore, although it is confirmed that interest rate policy is still the primary instrument of monetary policy, additional monetary policy tools are used by the ecb when necessary. such tools are indications of the future direction of monetary policy, asset markets and longer - term refinancing operations. in previous crises, but also during the pandemic period, the ecb resorted to extraordinary, less conventional, measures, as monetary policy interest rates had reached historically low levels. let me remind you that the current ecb interest rate levels have been zero since march 2016 for major refinancing operations and from june 2014 negative levels for deposits held by credit institutions with national central banks. the combination of measures taken was particularly successful, as they played a key role in increasing inflation and economic growth, from the very low levels that had been formed. these measures continue to be implemented to date in order to boost economic growth and support the stabilization of inflation at levels consistent with the target. in addition, they manage to maintain smooth financial conditions for all euro area economies, secure favorable financing terms and safeguard the flow of credit to every sector of the economy. during the pandemic, eurosystem securities under the pandemic emergency purchase program ( pepp ) played a key role in alleviating financial turmoil and boosting monetary easing. this program was mobilized immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic and, as announced on december 10, 2020, the net monthly purchases will last at least until march 2022 and in any case until we judge that the crisis of the pandemic is over. it is considered very effective in holding back the rise, due to high uncertainty, government bond yields and 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches discrepancies