From the very beginning of the financial turmoil we set up a strict separation principle between our standard measures, namely the interest rate decisions, which are designed to deliver price stability, and the non-standard measures, which are designed to help restore a better transmission of our monetary policy, taking into account the abnormal functioning of some markets.
Question: How is the ECB’s room for manoeuvre influenced by the poor condition of public finances in euro zone countries, and especially in the countries with acute crisis? As I said, we are not compromising on our primary goal of maintaining price stability, and our interest rate decisions are designed to fulfil that aim. Any other approach would be unthinkable.