The current low level of interest rates on long-term Bunds is largely explained by investors that have sought safe assets in the context of sovereign debt tensions in the euro area. A third concern about low interest rates is that they undermine incentives for reform in the euro area.
It is true that monetary policy decisions can have side effects – I mentioned a positive side effect earlier. Yet we act for the euro area as a whole in line with our mandate, not for individual countries.