The evidence provided by experts and academics confirms and even strengthens the conclusion that departures from price stability entail substantial distortions and welfare costs, which manifest themselves thorough various channels. In short, maintaining price stability is the contribution of monetary policy to sustainable growth, job creation and social cohesion. Price stability is a necessary condition to attain those goals.
2.2  The ECB’s definition of price stability  To make the Treaty mandate operational, the Governing Council of the ECB has provided a quantitative definition of price stability. Price stability is defined as a year-on-year increase in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the euro area as a whole of below 2%.