ECB Remains Persistent in its Efforts

Even if one does not entirely share the European Central Bank’s (ECB) upbeat view of the euro area’s incipient economic recovery, one has to acknowledge its constant efforts to alleviate the socio-political damage done by austerity and reform-at-all-costs zealots.

The ECB has been working for the last six years against unreasonably harsh fiscal policies, whose depressive impact was exacerbated by constant market-jarring statements of north European politicians bent on teaching a punishing lesson to allegedly south European spendthrifts – economies which account for 53 percent of the monetary union. In spite of that, the ECB managed to help stabilize last year the euro area’s domestic demand, after an average 1.6 percent annual decline in the previous two years.

The euro area’s appropriately easy monetary policies have also set in train export-induced growth dynamics. Last year, for example, net exports accounted for all of the area’s economic growth estimated at about 0.9 percent.

CNBC

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