Mario Draghi: ECB press conference – introductory statement Introductory statement by Mr Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, and Mr Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 12 January 2012. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. Let me wish you all a Happy New Year. We will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council. Based on its regular economic and monetary analyses, the Governing Council decided today to keep the key ECB interest rates unchanged, following the 25 basis point decreases on 3 November and 8 December 2011. The information that has become available since early December broadly confirms our previous assessment. Inflation is likely to stay above 2% for several months to come, before declining to below 2%. At the same time, the underlying pace of monetary expansion remains moderate. As expected, ongoing financial market tensions continue to dampen economic activity in the euro area, while, according to some recent survey indicators, there are tentative signs of a stabilisation in activity at low levels. The economic outlook remains subject to high uncertainty and substantial downside risks. In such an environment, cost, wage and price pressures in the euro area should remain modest and inflation rates should develop in line with price stability over the policy-relevant horizon.
We trust in democracy in freedom, in human rights. We trust in the fact that market economies are the best way to produce goods, services and prosperity. And our future will depend on the people of Europe. It is the free will of our democracies which will shape Europe in the long run. And at the ECB we are very proud to be already an executive institution; we are the “avant-garde” of Europe. DIE ZEIT: Do you understand the French desire for a stronger role of national concerns in Europe? Trichet: I am not speaking of any particular nation. All European nations are members of the European team. And the success of Europe is the success of the team. DIE ZEIT: Perhaps the President of the ECB has to play a more political role in the next years than you want to... Trichet: Communication with the large public opinion, with all our fellow citizens is certainly one of the most important issues for all who care about the Unity of Europe. DIE ZEIT: Chancellor Angela Merkel wants European rules to protect Europe from sovereign wealth funds. Do we need protection? Trichet: These funds, like all new phenomenons, have to be studied and carefully observed. On the other hand the principle of free circulation of capital at the level of the global economy has been beneficial for all economies concerned. DIE ZEIT: The euro is at an all time high vis-à-vis the Dollar and the Yen.