The concerns about a sharp rise in inflation are unfounded, said Isabel Schnabel, member of the board of directors of the European Central Bank (ECB). Schnabel emphasized that she is “sure” of this. The current development is temporary, she said. The central bank currently has an inflation target of two percent in order to create leeway, “so that our monetary policy can develop its stabilizing effect,” Schnabel explained. Interest rates would not stay low over the years, in any case. Money that flowed during the pandemic is part of the ECB’s “normal set of instruments” and must now be used in a targeted and sustainable manner by the EU states in order to get on a stable growth path.

In the coming decades, climate change will be the greatest risk for national economies – with significant effects on monetary policy. Economist Volker Wieland said that one had to expect that the interest level would be low for a long time. Until 2015, the goal of monetary policy had been consistent, he explained.