This report analyses the risks engendered by the low interest rate environment (LIRE) and related structural changes in the EU financial system and proposes macroprudential policy actions to mitigate them. While acknowledging country heterogeneity, the focus is mainly on the EU financial system as a whole and on interest rates in the EU. The time horizon for the analysis is medium term: five to ten years ahead. Although we discuss both real and nominal interest rates and the relationship between them, our focus when considering risk-taking is primarily on nominal rates. With stable, low inflation, nominal and real rates move in parallel