The euro area witnessed recession and stubbornly low inflation, which posed serious challenges for monetary policy. In response, the ECB embarked on a negative interest rate policy and introduced a series of unconventional monetary policy measures.
These innovative instruments succeeded in reinforcing economic recovery and achieved substantial inflation normalisation.1 At the same time, reforms in regulation and supervision of the financial sector and in EU economic governance strengthened the architecture of our economic and monetary union and its resilience.