It is essential to overcome these constraints to growth in the current environment, where the European economy is facing a number of important challenges, including rapid technological change, accelerating globalisation and ageing populations.
The Bank remains firmly committed to maintaining the current quantitative easing policy until the yearon-year increase in the consumer price index (CPI) becomes stably zero or above. This is a clear and specific pledge aimed at actual CPI data made public each month, and not the prospect of it.