I will now turn to our primary objective, namely that of delivering price stability over the medium term and be credible in the delivery of price stability over the medium and long term. I would like to emphasize that our primary mandate calls for our monetary policy stance to deliver price stability in the medium term.
Once the level of interest rates is decided we have the responsibility to ensure the smooth functioning of the segment of the money market that we influence. The two responsibilities are clearly separated and should not be mixed. On 6 September the Governing Council decided to leave the key ECB interest rates unchanged.