And the European Court of Justice has also put a question mark over the legitimacy of the ECB’s participation in it. For now, that is an opinion of the Advocate General, not a ruling of the Court. And therefore it is too early to be drawing conclusions. And it is also too early to establish what will happen in Greece in this respect. Was the ECB’s decision to start QE, a week ago, correct and timely in your opinion? It was the right decision, also in terms of timing – in the sense that it allowed us to prepare the operation from a technical point of view. We could not simply import the United States’ or United Kingdom’s experience. We needed to design our asset purchases based on our needs, which was also a useful process for gaining the approval of as many governors as possible. But in economic terms? Good timing in this regard, too. There are signs of economic growth returning and the price of oil has fallen, as has the exchange rate of the euro. And now monetary policy is sufficiently expansionary. All of the lights are green: 2015 could see significant growth and our surveys show that banks are passing on the reduction in interest rates to their customers more than they did in the past. Monetary policy is even more effective when it is not leaning against the wind. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Even without national reforms?
Benoît Cœuré: Interview in Corriere della Sera Interview with Mr Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, in Corriere della Sera, conducted by Mr Danilo Taino on 27 January 2015. *  *  *  In the last few days you have said that Tsipras must “continue to pay”. I said that there’s dual responsibility. Greece must continue to abide by the rules of the game: we are a community of purpose. On the other hand, Europe has to accept the democratic change in Athens, even if it is based on policies that are different from the ones before. No renegotiation of Athen’s debt, then. Not even an extension of maturities? Greece’s debt is made up of various components. As regards the government bonds purchased by the ECB as part of the Securities Markets Programme launched in 2010, we cannot grant even an extension of maturities: it would be like granting a loan to the country and that is prohibited by the treaties. As regards loans given to Athens by European countries, that’s not for us to decide. You’re indifferent? No, I’m saying that any decision that is made must have a goal, namely for the reforms in Greece to continue. There will probably be different reforms from the ones expected, given that there’s now a new government. But we have to be consistent: the country still needs reforms. Tspiras says that the troika is now finished in Greece.