The speech as given takes precedence over the written version.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear honoured guests,
It is my great privilege to welcome you to today’s event and to introduce our distinguished keynote speaker. In a time when increased global uncertainties namely tariffs impairing trade and rising geopolitical risks are putting pressure on global as well as euro area economy and thus on responses of economic policies, we are fortunate to have with us a remarkable leader whose insights and expertise have made a significant impact in shaping the current policies of the ECB.
While growth had been modest, the euro area economy has shown to be resilient in recent years when faced with a challenging global environment. Despite that, we expect a slowdown in the economic activity this year with a steady and gradual recovery in the following years. With respect to inflation, our task of keeping inflation in place was extraordinarily challenging in recent years. Nevertheless, the ECB's monetary policy was and still is very proactive in every sense of the way in maintaining the inflation target around 2%. The recent data confirms our efforts as the headline inflation in the euro area has been hovering around the target now for several months. Even more, I firmly believe that in the absence of new economic shocks, the interest rate level set by the ECB is appropriate for the continued maintenance of inflation at the target. This means that conducting our monetary policy neither fuels inflationary pressures on one hand, nor is restrictive to economic activity on the other, which could lead to a sustained deviation of inflation below our target.
Moreover, this prompts us to address our keynote speaker of this year's workshop. He has demonstrated outstanding dedication and innovation in studying international economics and economic growth. Throughout his career, he has been a driving force behind relevant research hot-topics shaping the direction of economic policy in Central Bank of Ireland and later on at the euro area level at the ECB. His work has not only earned national and international recognition but has also inspired countless professionals as well as students.
Please join me in warmly welcoming Mr. Philip Lane, Member of the ECB's Executive Board, who will share with us invaluable perspectives on the latest developments in the euro area and the global economy.
Dear Philip, the floor is yours.
Thank you very much.