Q: So if inflation were to shoot up next........>

ECB: Q: So if inflation were to shoot up next month, would the ECB be obliged to

abandon its stimulus programmes?

A: We look at inflation over the medium term, so if there is a sudden increase

in prices, but it is a one-off event, it will not affect our decision-making. It

has to be something persistent. If that were to happen, we would carefully

assess what the appropriate response is. The aim of all our decisions is to

bring inflation closer to a level of below, but close to, 2% over the medium

term. However, we can adjust the speed at which this happens. And there we have

to take the side effects of our measures into account, for example the effects

on our secondary objectives that are also defined in the Treaty on the

Functioning of the EU or on financial stability. So even if inflation were to

increase, we would not raise interest rates immediately if doing so would tip

the economy into a recession. Over the medium term, such a rate hike could be

even more damaging to price stability. So we have some flexibility.