For this reason, the Governing Council of the ECB has recently confirmed the need for monetary accommodation to secure a sustained return of inflation rates towards levels that are below, but close to, 2%. 2. Progress since the start of the crisis Let me now turn to Greece.
Since the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis, Greece has implemented a bold programme of economic adjustment that has eliminated fiscal and external deficits and improved competitiveness. The general government balance turned into a surplus of 0.7 percent of GDP in 2016 from a deficit of 15.1 percent of GDP in 2009.