We walked on a tightrope, sometimes for months in a row, as there were occasional bouts of jitters based on market expectations, even until the last moment, that our Euroarea entry would be deferred or that we would join at a significantly depreciated rate. Accordingly, whereas our goals were ambitious, our policies erred on the side of caution.
We made gradual adjustments and, as an insurance, always had at hand a sufficient large cushion of foreign exchange reserves and a relatively high interest rate differential vis-a-vis Euro rates, even until the last few weeks before entry into the Euroarea. BIS Review 5/2004  3