To achieve long-term monetary and financial stability, this historical evolution needs to be taken into account. It is not an abstract exercise. Today, each monetary and financial policy move is fully coherent with the intertemporal goals of money market equilibrium and the preservation of the value of currency, stability and financial system depth.
It was mainly stock prices that were affected; interest rates have been fairly stable overall – except in Italy. Euro area inflation has risen recently, so many people – especially in Germany – are asking why the ECB is sticking to its accommodative monetary policy. Our mandate is to safeguard sustainable price stability in the euro area.