Most likely, this would lead to a hostile environment, which may disrupt other benefits related to being part of the European Union. As long as price stability is maintained, monetary and economic policies regain efficiency. This fact will also contribute to more economic growth, higher employment and an easier political environment for structural reforms. Whether paradise is eternal remains to be seen. Policy preferences have changed over the last 20 years.
Price stability is today an objective of common concern.
The countries have learned to live in an environment of low inflation. The Treaty on European Union clearly establishes a preference for price stability over other objectives. The Maastricht Treaty provides institutional backing together with constraints on budget policies. Over the past 20 years there has been an emerging consensus among central bankers. Throughout the world, central bankers agree today on price stability as the primary goal of monetary policy.