However, the marked weakening of economic activity and the modest share of inflation-linked wages in the area as a whole may limit, as of now, the risks of a spiral between prices and wages. Last Thursday, the ECB Governing Council raised official interest rates by 0.75 percentage points, bringing the overall increase since 21 July to 2 points.
The recourse to a long negative list that restricts the volume of trade should be avoided at all costs. •  Macroeconomic policies such as fiscal and monetary policies should be harmonized to achieve a stable, non-discriminating macroeconomic environment for all the countries in the region.