Philip R Lane: The monetary policy strategy of the ECB - the playbook for monetary policy decisions

Speech by Mr Philip R Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Hertie School, Berlin, 2 March 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
03 March 2022

I welcome the invitation to speak at the Hertie School, which has such a strong record in European public policy research, including research on the institutional architecture of the euro area. I especially wish to acknowledge the exceptional contributions of the late Professor Henrik Enderlein, who played a founding role in the development of the Jacques Delors Centre.

Before turning to the topic of today's lecture, I wish to comment on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At stated by President Lagarde last Friday, at this dark moment for Europe, the thoughts of the ECB's Governing Council are with the people of Ukraine. The ECB is closely monitoring the evolving situation. With regard to policy measures, the ECB will implement the sanctions decided by the EU and the European governments. The ECB will also ensure smooth liquidity conditions and the access of citizens to cash. The ECB stands ready to take whatever action is needed to fulfil its responsibilities to ensure price stability and financial stability in the euro area.

Today, I wish to frame the current monetary policy debate in the context of the monetary policy strategy of the ECB. I will not dwell on the latest conjunctural developments or speculate on the evolution of the medium-term outlook for the economy and inflation. Our monetary policy meeting next week will provide the best opportunity for a comprehensive assessment of economic and financial developments and the implications for near-term and medium-term inflation dynamics. In this respect, the schedule for the March staff projections exercise has been revised in order to take into account the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The revised schedule also means that today's Eurostat inflation release will be incorporated in the projections that will be considered at next week's monetary policy meeting.