On that occasion, I said: “We are all journeying, in uncharted waters, towards a destination that is far from certain.” Almost seven years on, that journey is coming to an end for me – at least in my capacity as a member of the ECB’s Executive Board.
Since 1999, we have made considerable progress in mapping those uncharted waters, although much further exploration remains to be done. Confounding the many sceptics at the outset of Monetary Union, the ECB has firmly established its credibility and reputation. Longer-term inflation expectations have been firmly anchored and a robust and durable monetary policy framework has been created.