This war not only confronts us with the immediate implications of a war in Europe, but also constitutes a tectonic shock to the global geopolitical and economic order. Above all, the Governing Council of the ECB expresses its full support to the people of Ukraine. We will ensure smooth liquidity conditions and implement the sanctions decided by the European Union and European governments.
We will take whatever action is needed to fulfil the ECB’s mandate to pursue price stability and to safeguard financial stability. Turning now to the main focus of this lecture, this is a milestone week: the end of March marks the conclusion of ECB net asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP).