For Luxembourg in particular, this change to national accounts methodology was important because our financial services industry primarily serves the export market, so the previous practice of allocating all such production to intermediate consumption by a fictitious sector was particularly implausible. While national accounts methodology has been much improved by this change, some open questions still remain.
Inflation expectations for the euro area over the medium to long term continue to be firmly anchored in line with our aim of maintaining inflation rates below, but close to, 2%. Regarding the medium-term outlook for prices and growth, the information and analysis now available fully confirm our decision to maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance for as long as necessary.