And that is the reason why we have delivered price stability. FAZ: But by purchasing government bonds, you’ve crossed a red line. Has the credibility of the ECB suffered as a result? Trichet: There has been no crossing of any line. Our line is price stability, and our credibility is derived from achieving this objective over the medium term.
The Governing Council of the ECB observed that the effectiveness of the transmission mechanism for our monetary policy was being severely hampered. We are not increasing the money supply. By contrast with what other major central banks have done, we are not purchasing government bonds in order to inject liquidity into the markets. What we are doing is fundamentally different: we sterilise.