This is in the very nature of a structural response, which is foremost concentrated on the regulatory framework. Today the immediate challenge we face is to avoid a situation where the recessive forces deepen and combine with the impairment of financial markets in creating a vicious spiral.
When, in the remainder of 1999 and in 2000, our analysis indicated that external shocks, namely the sharp rise in oil prices and the depreciation of the euro, were increasingly putting pressure on prices, and our assessment of monetary and credit aggregates signalled the existence of generous liquidity conditions in the euro area, we raised rates on seven occasions.