Furthermore, the forecast suggests that the underutilisation of aggregate economic capacity in the euro area will no longer be exceptional next year. That would no longer be a crisis year, in my opinion, if the assumptions regarding the course of the pandemic and expectations about its economic impact turn out to be substantially confirmed.
Owing to the uncertainty that still persists, we are unable to set a date for exiting monetary policy crisis mode very far in advance. However, to avoid having to end the PEPP abruptly, net purchases could be scaled back gradually beforehand. It will then become clear whether the overall envelope for the PEPP ended up being used in full or not.