Mario Draghi Attacked at ECB Meeting After Claiming QE a Success

Mario Draghi claimed success for his quantitative easing program today, while playing down concerns that the European Central Bank will struggle to stick with it to the end.

“There’s clear evidence that the monetary policy measures we've put in place are effective,” the ECB president said at a press conference in Frankfurt, after he and the Governing Council left interest rates unchanged. “We expect the economic recovery to broaden and strengthen gradually.”

The policy-setting Governing Council decided to keep the ECB's main lending rate at a record low 0.05%, where it has stayed put since last September. The rate the ECB sets on overnight deposits also remained at minus 0.20%.

Draghi’s remarks were interrupted as a protester jumped on to the podium, calling for the end of the "ECB Dictatorship."