In particular, this former definition had a streak of asymmetry, and the quantification of 2% may have appeared more of a ceiling than a central target. The new 2% inflation target is symmetric and unambiguous. Symmetry means that the 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Governing Council considers both slower and faster inflation to be equally undesirable.
This change is clearly reflected in our forward guidance. As decided at our monetary policy meeting yesterday, the Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it sees inflation reaching 2% durably, and it judges that the progress realized in underlying inflation is consistent with inflation stabilizing at 2% over the medium term.