A warning cry from the European Central Bank

On Thursday, the central bank’s president, Mario Draghi, took new steps to address those economic woes. He slashed the key interest rate to near 0 percent and announced a program of securities purchases, to begin in October, with the stated goal of expanding the ECB’s balance sheet — which shrank over the past two years — and easing credit across Europe. The unstated goal is to weaken the euro on international currency markets so that Europe can sell more exports, especially from struggling nations such as Spain and Italy. Mr. Draghi was reacting to a rash of dire economic data showing that Europe was slipping dangerously close to deflation.

WASHINGTON POST