But this was probably also because monetary policymakers had assumed significant fiscal risks – the Securities Market Programme (SMP), for example – or announced that they were prepared to do so if necessary – here, I refer to outright monetary transactions (OMT).
With pressure being reduced via the capital markets and given the security gained from the sizeable fiscal support funds, motivation to decrease deficits and debt evidently also declined. Calls for “flexibility” in the fiscal rules grew louder, and the European Commission eventually gave in to the political pressure.