You sound very enthusiastic. President Lagarde has vast experience and knows exactly which topics are the most crucial. She will undoubtedly be an excellent ECB President. The ECB President is new, but the same cannot be said for the economic environment, which inspires less enthusiasm. How worried are you about the euro area economy?
For two years now, we have seen a persistent weakening of the economy and a slowdown in growth. In the third and fourth quarters, however, we now observe a stabilisation. A recession in the euro area is highly unlikely. The real threat at present is an extended phase of extremely low growth, below potential.