As you have already been informed, the following decisions were taken: • First, the Governing Council decided to conduct the first main refinancing operation of the ESCB as a fixed rate tender and to set the level of the interest rate for this operation at 3%, in line with the key central bank rates prevailing at the end of Stage Two.
Their ability to boost output without adding appreciably to their workforces, appears to have reflected a backlog of unexploited capabilities to enhance productivity with minimal capital investment, a delayed effect of the capital goods boom of the 1990s.