Together with fiscal consolidation and stepped-up structural reforms in several euro area countries, as well as progress towards a stronger euro area economic governance framework, they have contributed to a significant improvement in the financial environment over recent months.
We expect that the three-year longer-term refinancing operations will provide further support for the ongoing stabilisation in financial markets and, in particular, for lending activity in the euro area. All our non-standard monetary policy measures are temporary in nature. Furthermore, all the necessary tools to address potential upside risks to medium-term price stability are fully available.