Third, and more generally, we need to be mindful of possible risks of falling into a regime of long-term economic stagnation, if not countered by appropriate policies. Although the role of monetary policy is clearly limited in this context, a scenario of secular stagnation entails important potential challenges for monetary policy.
In June, the Governing Council decided a package of measures to provide additional monetary stimulus and support lending to the real economy. The upcoming TLTRO is an important element in our strategy to deliver on our price stability mandate. It is meant to provide an attractive means of refinancing for banks to ease credit conditions and spur new lending.