Not moving promptly towards the SRM and SRF would prolong uselessly financial fragmentation, leave the euro area financial system exposed to systemic fragility, and, ultimately, be harmful for growth and jobs. This would in particular be the case if the SRF is only slowly mutualised, and if it cannot resort to a common European backstop from the outset. I thank you for your attention.
The consumer price index (CPI) figures since the consumption tax hike show that, excluding the effects of the tax hike, the year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI for all items less fresh food, or the core CPI, was generally around the previous month’s level, and this is also a supporting factor for the assessment of the underlying trend that I just mentioned (Chart 2).