Consideration should also be given to the fact that all the monetary policy measures that are currently on the table would set us on a course into uncharted waters. This raises questions as to the effectiveness of such measures and to the risks and side-effects they might entail.
Moreover, the Governing Council members need to respect the boundaries of our monetary policy mandate and the provisions of the European treaties. Another issue about which I have no doubt is that the longer the low-interest-rate policy persists, the greater the risk and the less effective its positive stimulus. This point was also raised by the Association of German Banks recently, and rightly so.