Hence, when I speak in such a prominent financial centre as London, all of you will be, at least to some extent, “ECB watchers”, expecting to gain some insights into the monetary policy of the Eurosystem. Thus, let me begin by giving you a brief explanation of our most recent monetary policy decisions.
According to the projection results for the euro area, GDP growth is projected to experience a protracted period of subdued growth (2008: 0.8%-1.2%; 2009: -1.0%-0.0%; 2010: 0.5%1.5%), with dampened domestic and external demand. The European Commission forecasts growth near zero in 2009 and quarterly growth rates to remain very low until Q2 2010.