Rather, we unequivocally pursue the interests of the euro area as a whole. I don’t mind admitting that we are proud of this spirit. What makes us all the more proud is that monetary policy is up to now the only area in European politics where European interests clearly predominate over national interests. The European Central Bank is unique in many respects.
The ECB is independent, and has its independence guaranteed in the EU Treaty. The Treaty also stipulated the maintenance of price stability as the primary goal of monetary policy. The European System of Central Banks defines price stability as a change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices of less than 2 %.