Europe can no longer risk being so seriously under-equipped

THE European Central Bank surprised financial markets on Thursday with moves to loosen monetary policy. The prospects for growth in the eurozone have dimmed lately, and policy was going to be tweaked at some point unless things picked up. ECB president Mario Draghi and his colleagues are apparently worried.

Their main problem, however, isn't the precise timing of monetary adjustments like the ones announced this week. It's the lack of good options if things get any worse.

The ECB's new projections show growth in the eurozone slowing this year to just 1.1 per cent; in December the central bank had predicted 1.7 per cent. That's roughly in line with other recent downgrades from the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The picture varies a lot from country to country within the euro area, but across the bloc, slowing international trade and rising political uncertainty have taken a toll.