European Central Bank Unveils Stimulus Plan to Jolt Eurozone Back to Life

As expected, the European Central Bank Thursday launched a massive program of bond-buying to support the Eurozone economy and stop the 19-country currency union falling into a destructive spiral of deflation.

President Mario Draghi told his regular press conference that the ECB would expand its current, limited programs of buying private-sector bonds and buy up to a total of €60 billion ($69 billion) a month through September 2016, or as long as it takes to drive away the threat of deflation.

The program “will in any case be conducted until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation which is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term,” Draghi said. That compares with a rate of -0.2% in December.

The program breaks beyond any doubt the taboo over government bond-buying that has constrained the ECB since the Eurozone debt crisis erupted in 2010. With a maximum value of €1.26 trillion between now and September next year, it’s also much bigger than leaks over the last month had led financial markets to believe. Consequently, the euro fell over a cent to a new 12-year low against the dollar. By 0920 Eastern Time, it was trading at $1.1493.

However, the Frankfurt-based institution was forced to make some concessions to (mainly German-led) objections to the buying of government debt.

Most of the buying will be done by national central banks, and the ECB will only underwrite potential losses on bonds issued by European institutions such as the European Investment Bank or the Eurozone’s bailout vehicle. As such, if a country is forced to leave the Eurozone in the future and is unable to repay euro-denominated debt, then the losses will stay with the national central bank concerned.

Draghi also warned that the measures taken today would only be effective if Eurozone governments did their part in pushing through reforms to revive growth. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly voiced concern that too much generosity from the ECB would relieve the pressure on governments elsewhere to enact such reforms.

In addition, the ECB also scrapped the 0.10% percent premium over its main rate that it was charging for the ultra-long-term loans it has been offering for the last four months, known as TLTROs.

Draghi said there was a “large majority” to trigger the program immediately, indirectly confirming that a minority had dissented against the decision.

This article originally appeared on Fortune.com