In addition, the interventions are fully sterilised by conducting liquidity-absorbing operations so that overall liquidity conditions and the stance of monetary policy remain unaffected. It is certainly true that with this non-standard measure, the ECB has entered a terrain in which it should not stay longer than absolutely necessary.
It is up to euro area governments to address the root causes of the current problems, to develop and implement credible plans to put their public finances on a sustainable footing and thereby restore orderly conditions in sovereign debt markets. In this regard, let me point out that the state of the public finances in the euro area differs across countries.