In this respect, history tells us that loose monetary and fiscal policies lead to entrenched inflation processes, which in the end had adverse consequences for economic growth and employment. If we were to learn a lesson from the 1970s and the 1980s, it would be that there are high economic costs to be paid in fighting inflation once it has become entrenched.
I should recall that it was this realisation which led to the worldwide conviction that monetary and economic policies should be stability-oriented. If I look back at the early years of Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), I can say that I am satisfied with what has been achieved by the monetary policy of the ECB.