The European Central Bank is likely to announce a massive new economic stimulus due to falling prices and a growing recession risk.

Economists believe that ECB’s 25-member governing council will vote on Thursday to buy a significant amount of government bonds to keep down interest rates and promote growth in a practice known as “quantitative easing,” according to USA Today.

The Federal Reserve had its own quantitative easing after the 2008 financial crisis, which many economist credit for boosting the economy. The U.S. economy is in much better shape than Europe, which is still struggling to get out of the economic doldrums as the United States posts strong gains.

The advocate general of Europe’s highest court ruled last week that the bond-buying program wouldn’t violate a ban on using monetary policy to pay for national budgets, a major boost for the initiative, according to the report.

Quantitative easing is likely to have some negative effects for the euro and continue to boost the dollar, which will hurt U.S. exports but will help U.S. multinational firms in the long run, say some economists.

However, buying government bonds in the fragmented eurozone is more complicated than in the United States. The European Union has 19 member states, each with their own independent economies, and wealthier nations — particularly Germany — don’t like the idea of financing struggling economies such as that of Greece. However, despite Germany’s opposition and that of others, the measure appears likely to pass, according to an economist at Barclays Capital.

If the measure somehow doesn’t pass, it will roil markets on Jan. 22 and could prompt a sharp decline.

A major reason for the move is a disappointing drop in consumer prices, which fell 0.2 percent in December, leading to deflationary concerns. The drop was mostly due to plummeting oil prices, but a drop in prices can cause consumers to tighten up on spending and lead to further declines, and eventually a recession.

Quantitative easing aims to inject cash into the banking system to keep interest rates low, prompting consumers and business to borrow and spend while boosting European exports by driving down the euro.