Paths leading to stronger growth  Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of the Eurosystem’s highly accommodative monetary policy is to stimulate economic activity in order to bringing inflation into alignment with the definition of price stability. Private consumption in the euro area has been picking up perceptibly, and not just because financing conditions are favourable – low oil prices and inflation are another factor.
Investment, meanwhile, is only now gradually getting off the ground. Investment, of course, is more than just a component of aggregate demand in the economic process – it also has a bearing on the size and quality of the economy’s capital stock.