Remember that we have been given a narrow mandate in the Treaty to deliver euro area price stability, and that narrow mandate is what justifies our independence. Nowhere in the Treaty does it say that the ECB should set interest rates in such a way as to force policy changes on unwilling governments.
Turning to the monetary analysis, recent data confirm the subdued underlying pace of monetary expansion. In August the annual growth rate of M3 decreased to 2.9%, from 3.6% in July. While this decline was mainly due to a base effect, monthly inflows were also relatively contained.