There is "reason to be optimistic that the European Central Bank's (ECB) accommodative monetary policy is feeding through to the real economy and, as such, can help prevent damage to potential growth caused by a prolonged period of economic weakness," ECB executive board member Yves Mersch noted in a speech at the Institute of International European Affairs in Dublin on February 7, but he added: "It is also clear that low interest rates cannot raise growth on a structural basis."

According to