(ANSA) - ROME, APRIL 22 - The ECB believes that the NextGeneration Eu package is central and underlines "the urgency that it become operational without delay" with a "timely" ratification of the decision on own resources that will allow the European Commission to issue the bonds to finance it . This was stated by the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, in the press conference after the meeting of the Governing Council in which it was decided to leave the main rate unchanged at zero, the rate on deposits at -0.50% and the rate on marginal loans at 0.25% . The Council of the ECB has also decided to continue the purchases of the 'Pepp' pandemic program for a total of 1,850 billion "at least until the end of March 2022 and"expects purchases in the current quarter to be conducted at a significantly higher pace. "
The ECB's forecasts assume a decline in the euro area's GDP in the first quarter of this year, and a positive growth in the second, and Lagarde highlighted that "the continuation of the pandemic, including the spread of virus mutations, and its implications for the economic and financial conditions continue to be sources of downside risks ".
(HANDLE).
