Draghi says ECB unanimously supports additional measures if necessary

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing council stands unanimously in favour of using further “unconventional instruments”, should they be necessary to further address risks of inflation remaining too low for too long, the institution’s president, Mario Draghi, said on Thursday morning.

Speaking before the Finnish parliament, Draghi admitted the weakening seen in the Eurozone’s rate of economic growth over the summer. He also called attention to the still sluggish money and credit dynamics in the euro area.

Nevertheless, he believed that inflation would remain around current levels in the coming months, before increasing gradually over the next two years.

Tellingly however, and as had been revealed on previous ocassions, the central banker indicated that the bank’s staff and related Eurosystem committees had begun preparations for the possible implementation of such measures.

A call for a decisive move towards Fiscal Union

Later that same morning, in a speech delivered at the University of Helsinki, Draghi argued in favour of a "decisive step" towards closer fiscal union as the only way of ensuring that the single currency area will remain intact over time.

In particular, that would make it easier for countries to adopt the requisite structural reforms, keeping in mind the need not to think of economic stability solely in national terms.

However, further integration of capital markets is of paramount importance and must be "addressed with urgency", as a way to improve the Eurozone's ability to withstand shocks, by spreading the risk throughout the private sector.