In other words, credibility now relied not just on perceptions of the ECB’s commitment to our aim, but also on perceptions of our capability to fight low inflation. We responded to the situation in three main ways. The ECB’s policy response The first was by clarifying the symmetry of our aim.
However, it does not make for a European stimulus package, as some have called for. This is because Germany is not expected to generate significant spillover effects on the rest of the euro area by increasing investment. This notion is to be rejected, moreover, on the grounds that it does not comply with the principle of individual fiscal responsibility that underpins the Maastricht Treaty.