It’s not possible to partake in a strong single market and a strong single currency vis-à-vis weakly coordinated national fiscal policies, economic policies and financial arrangements. For example, at present, the single monetary policy is still transmitted in a regime of national banking regulation, supervision and resolution settlement.
Against this background, low interest rates are a tool to maintain price stability. And price stability is a pre-requisite to bring the economy back onto a sustainable growth path. Higher key interest rates would have exacerbated the recession, delayed the recovery and contributed to deflationary risks. Higher interest rates would therefore hurt savers.