Economic and monetary developments Already at the time of our last meeting in October, the expectation had faded that economic activity in the euro area would reach growth rates in line with trend potential by the end of 2002.
Some of these central banks had a particularly strong need for transparency owing to their former unsatisfactory stability records and lack of independence. It was therefore of utmost importance to them to regain their reputation through applying a transparent forecasting procedure. Switzerland is a different case.