*  *  *  Dear Madam Chair, Dear Honourable Members, Thank you very much for the invitation to the exchange of views today. You asked me to begin with a brief overview of the main recent economic and monetary developments in the euro area and recent monetary policy decisions. I.
Economic and monetary developments  Incoming information since our last regular hearing in June continue to point towards ongoing growth in the euro area, although – as expected – at a slower pace. After a strong increase of 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2011, partly due to special factors, real GDP growth decelerated to 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter.