Open and transparent communication is a win-win situation for monetary policy. It helps the private sector make better economic decisions and allows the central bank to achieve its price stability objective more efficiently.

The favourable outlook for the global economy is overshadowed by the threat of protectionism. In the euro area growth has picked up. Some of this acceleration is on a sustainable basis, but long-term growth is likely to remain slower than pre-crisis growth.

The euro area economy is growing, supported by monetary policy. Confidence in the economy is strong, and investment and employment are both growing. On the other hand, there still remain problems from the financial and debt crises, and the pace of structural reform has slowed.

By promising low interest rates in the future, a central bank can provide stimulus for the economy today. The effectiveness of this kind of forward guidance can be assessed by the impact it has on market expectations regarding interest rates.

Euro area monetary policy has been highly accommodative, and the euro area economy is getting back on track. An abrupt halt in the Chinese economy would be the greatest risk to euro area growth. The articles were first published in Finnish on 24 September 2015.

A slower recovery in the euro area would present new challenges for monetary policy. The ECB Governing Council monitors all incoming information. The asset purchase programme provides sufficient flexibility in terms of adjusting the size and duration of the programme. The package of articles on monetary policy and the international economic forecast will be published in English on 2 October 2015.

The existence of a lower bound for nominal interest rates complicates the monetary policy. Central banks have lately tried to circumvent this problem by applying non-standard monetary policy measures.

In exceptional circumstances, Eurosystem central banks can also grant credit to banks outside monetary policy operations.