General considerations underlying the new phase of unconventional monetary policy The launch of the new phase of non-standard measures in June 2014 must be viewed in the context of the decline in inflation rates since the second half of 2013, which was accompanied by persistently fragile euro area growth prospects, even after the sovereign debt crisis abated over the course of 2012.
The economy was still in recession for most of 2013 and annual GDP growth figures only became positive in late 2013, leaving significant economic slack. A weak recovery took hold over the course of 2014 with growth rates around and below 1%, but the outlook deteriorated again during the autumn, with inflation turning negative later that year.