In my remarks today, I will outline these decisions and explain the assessment of the current economic environment on which they were based. Following the recent euro area summit, I will also take this opportunity to discuss the future of our Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), pointing to priorities for the near term from an ECB perspective.
Economic and inflation developments The euro area economy grew by 0.4% during the first quarter of 2018, marking five years of continued economic expansion. Underlying economic fundamentals remain solid, notwithstanding some moderation in growth at the beginning of the year. The labour market has improved notably over recent years.