The degree of pass-through, in turn, has a strong influence on the transmission of shocks, which has differing implications for monetary policy. On the one hand, lower pass-through means that import prices are better shielded from exogenous exchange rate shocks, and monetary policy can focus more on domestic sources of inflationary pressures.
It was above all a choice of values of a free, open society – a choice made by the people of the European Union. The European project has firmly established political freedoms, too. From the outset the promotion of free democracy has been at its heart.