Monetary policy
"The primary objective of the European System of Central Banks [...] shall be to maintain price stability." (Article 127 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
This is the key provision in the monetary policy chapter of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. By having the monetary policy of the ECB focus on this objective, the Treaty incorporates modern economic thinking on the role, scope and limits of monetary policy and establishes the basis, in institutional and organisational terms, for the central banking arrangements in Economic and Monetary Union.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank aims to keep inflation below, but close to, 2% over the medium term. In order to achieve its primary objective, the Governing Council bases its decisions on a two-pillar monetary policy strategy and implements them using its operational framework.
