BIS Review 61/2004  3  Figure 2 HICP inflation rates for EMU and selected member countries. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank.
On top of all this, we have also seen a sizeable appreciation of the euro since 2002, particularly against the dollar, taking it back to the level prevailing at its initial launch. From that short outline, it is clear that the economic and financial environment of the past seven years has provided a stiff test of the single monetary policy.