any threat to the ecb ’ s credibility? trichet : after the first 12 years of the euro, despite all difficulties - oil and commodities shocks and financial crisis – we will have delivered price stability fully in line with our definition, less than 2 % close to 2 %. that is the proof. the executive board and the governing council are inflexibly attached to price stability. and our credibility does not rely on words but on deeds and on our own track record. hb : and is this also valid for the decision taken during the weekend? trichet : as regards our sunday decisions they were of the same nature as those taken earlier in the crisis when we adopted non - standard measures. where necessary we take our decisions swiftly, like in 2007 and 2008, but without ever losing our sense of direction : medium - and long - term price stability. hb : the governing council ’ s most recent decision was not unanimous. was there an argument? trichet : i can confirm that three of the four decisions were unanimous or taken on the basis of a consensus. one decision namely the securities market programme was decided, as i have already said, by an overwhelming majority. all our decisions – including last sunday ’ s – are taken after weighing up all the pros and cons. hb : were you not in contact with authorities? trichet : yes, i was in contact with my good friend ben bernanke, the chairman of the federal reserve and other central bank governors, throughout the evening and the night. it was not only a european but also a global serious situation. hb : for more than ten years, the ecb was able to keep inflation in the euro area under control. now, all of a sudden, the union has stopped functioning properly. what has happened? trichet : we are currently facing challenges on a global scale. the events that we are now seeing have ceased to be a matter solely for europe. the challenge of running sound sustainable fiscal policies is the problem affecting most of the world ’ s major industrialised countries. that needs to be understood. the crisis in private financial markets has now been followed by severe tensions in the public sector. ultimately, all industrialised countries are very much in the same boat. hb : from athens are coming only nice words, just words … trichet : no, nice words aren ’ t the only thing coming out of athens. tough measures are already being adopted – measures that were certainly long overdue

jean - claude trichet : interview in handelsblatt interview with mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, in handelsblatt, germany, conducted by ms marietta kurm - engels and mr andreas hoffbauer on 12 may and published on 14 may 2010. * * * handelsblatt ( hb ) : mr trichet, you intend to withdraw all of the liquidity that you are currently injecting into the markets via the purchase of government bonds. do we have to face inflation in the euro area? trichet : no, not at all. price stability is our primary mandate and over the past 11½ years we fulfilled our mandate successfully. we have not changed our monetary policy stance. the additional liquidity that we are providing through the purchase of government bonds will be withdrawn again. interest - bearing time deposits are an appropriate way to withdraw this liquidity. hb : what induced you to take this extraordinary step on monday morning? you had made no mention whatsoever thereof at the press conference just three days earlier. trichet : on thursday afternoon and friday, we were facing a situation that we regarded as fundamentally abnormal. that situation deteriorated abruptly, sharply and extensively. the very moment where the agreement was reached in europe to provide greece with financial support and the imminent decision of the international monetary fund ( imf ) to approve the greek standby should have contributed on the contrary to ease tensions in the markets … hb : … which was not the case? trichet : no, the contrary happened. the situation in a number of financial markets was hampering the transmission of our monetary policy, a monetary policy stance that we had judged to be appropriate precisely the previous thursday. that had to be put right. the exceptional circumstances demanded that we act swiftly. hb : what volume will the purchase programme have? trichet : i do not provide any figures at the moment. hb : the markets would like to know in somewhat more detail how you intend to absorb the liquidity again. trichet : allow me to repeat myself : we are not changing our monetary policy stance. we are not embarking on quantitative easing. we will withdraw the liquidity that we will inject mainly through tendering term deposits. hb : will that be possible? trichet : of course. it does not present technical difficulties. that is what we intend to do. and let me say, that what counts, is our determination and