The evaluation encompassed a thorough assessment of comments from academics, analysts and journalists. In plain analogy with the majority of the comments received, the evaluation process focused on three aspects, namely a) the definition of price stability, b) the role of money and c) the two-pillar architecture. 1. The definition of price stability  The Treaty (Art.
105.1) assigns to the Eurosystem the primary objective of maintaining price stability. On 13 October 1998 the ECB Governing Council defined price stability as "a year-on-year increase in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the euro area of below 2%". Price stability according to this definition "is to be maintained over the medium term".