For the avoidance of doubt, the current level of inflation is concerning. It affects households’ purchasing power and it affects business investment decisions. It affects the whole community – as I said earlier, some more than others – whether households or businesses, and whether small or large.
The ECB’s objective is for inflation to be at 2 per cent over the medium term and we are clearly some way from that now. We know why we are here: the pandemic, the price of energy and the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The pandemic has not gone away and it remains a key driver of inflation dynamics.