Despite facing the largest shock in the postwar period, central banks have succeeded in maintaining price stability and fulfilling their mandates. A key factor behind this has been central bank independence. But in spite of its benefits, its desirability and relevance are nowadays being increasingly challenged.
However, as I explained when describing our strategic framework, macroeconomic forecasts are only one - albeit important - input into the policy process. They are always evaluated in the context of, and crosschecked against, other analyses, including, most importantly, the analysis conducted under the first pillar of our strategy. Moreover, forecasts do not embody the Governing Council’s views.