Mario Draghi: ECB press conference – introductory statement Introductory statement by Mr Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, and Mr Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 4 April 2013. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference.
It is true that we had maintained low interest rates for a relatively long period, even after the summer of 1988 when the economy was clearly on a recovery path, and allowed 1  BIS Review 55/2000  unfounded expectations to be embedded in the market and society that such low interest rates would continue for a considerable period.