All these facets and others covered by the strategic review may be relevant when delivering on our price stability mandate. Indeed, one of this review’s key aspects will be the definition of the ECB’s price stability target. The current inflation target, consisting of inflation rates of below, but close to, 2%, may be reformulated. First, it may be necessary to clarify the specific level of inflation targeted, to make it easier for economic agents to understand. Second, this target could also be made more symmetric, clarifying that the ECB’s response to undershooting would be as firm as its response to overshooting, and its determination to achieve symmetry in inflation outcomes around its target. Likewise, in the current environment of low inflation and interest rates close to their lower bound, the inflation target must take into account the need for a sufficiently high buffer, above zero, granting conventional interest rate policy more room for manoeuvre. 13  See, for example, Bernanke et al. (2019). 14  See Banco de España (2020b) for a description of this announcement and an assessment of its effects on the financial markets. 17  For all the above reasons, I believe it would be desirable to establish an inflation target of 2%, interpreted symmetrically, in the sense that I have just explained.
Jean-Claude Trichet: I expect that the cooperation with the UK authorities, particularly with the Bank of England, and for me personally with its governor, will be extraordinarily close. It’s a job at the level of the EU 27 where you will need a very close cooperation between Mervyn King and all of us, and I expect that this is the way we are all looking at it. 4  BIS Review 115/2010