Over the past few years, the annual inflation rate in the euro area has remained slightly higher than our own definition of price stability, that is a rise in prices of less than 2 % and close to 2%.
This forms the basis for our March projections, which envisage a slow return to an inflation rate that is close to our understanding of stable prices: accordingly, we shall be at 1.8% in 2017. However, if we see that we are going beyond that figure, it would of course be appropriate to consider whether we need to adjust our plan.