it is true that, when the euro was introduced, a few sectors in some european economies tried to take advantage of the changeover to increase certain prices abnormally. this led to an average rise of around 0. 2 % at the time of the changeover. in the case of france, christian noyer explained this phenomenon, which is insignificant in the life of the euro thus far, outstandingly well. it has become clear that we have done what has been necessary to guarantee price stability in the euro area. we will have very low inflation for some months in the course of 2009, and i already predict some people saying to us that it will be too low! this is a result of the fall in oil prices, as it was the high inflation in 2008 which resulted from their rise. le figaro magazine : the euro celebrated its ten - year anniversary on 1 january 2009. without it, where would we be? jean - claude trichet : the euro is evidently an advantage for those democracies that have chosen to adopt it. it has proven its stability, its resistance to shocks and its resilience in the face of financial and economic turmoil. once again, i would say, as we have faced many tests over the last ten years : the bursting of the internet bubble, the asian crisis, the raw materials and oil price shock... in ten years, the euro has been a key factor in achieving the single european market and has provided a shield against international turmoil. le figaro magazine : is the euro, therefore, a total success? jean - claude trichet : it is a big success. we have given european citizens a single currency which is in line with what was promised : a currency which retains its value, which inspires confidence, a stable currency, at least as stable as the legacy currencies. ten years ago, many believed this promise could not be fulfilled. le figaro magazine : in terms of job creation, has the euro kept its promise? jean - claude trichet : it is not correct to say, as some have done, that the euro has acted against job creation. on the contrary, in the first ten years of the euro, the number of people in work increased by approximately 16 million, which is at least 3 million more than in the usa in the same period. we have also created many more jobs than we did in the decades preceding the euro, in europe as well as in france. le figaro magazine : can

christine lagarde : press conference introductory statement by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, and mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 8 july 2021. * * * the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our special press conference. yesterday the governing council unanimously approved the ecb ’ s new monetary policy strategy. this brings to a successful conclusion the strategic review that we have been conducting over the last 18 months, drawing on an immense collective effort by staff at the ecb and the national central banks of the euro area. we have worked within the existing treaty and taken the ecb ’ s primary mandate of price stability as a given. the review has allowed us to challenge our thinking, engage with numerous stakeholders, reflect, discuss and reach common ground on how to adapt our strategy. the new strategy is reflected in the document entitled “ the ecb ’ s monetary policy strategy statement ” that was published earlier today. it is a strong foundation that will guide us in the conduct of monetary policy in the years to come. let me explain the key elements of our new strategy in more detail. to improve the clarity of our price stability objective, and with the aim of better anchoring inflation expectations, we have decided to amend our formulation of the objective. the governing council considers that price stability is best maintained by aiming for a two per cent inflation target over the medium term. a two per cent inflation target is consistent with standard definitions of price stability and provides a safety margin to protect the effectiveness of monetary policy in responding to disinflationary shocks and to guard against the risk of deflation. this specific quantitative target is clear and easy to communicate, and provides a strong anchor for inflation expectations, which is essential to maintain price stability. it replaces the previous double - key formulation of below, but close to, two per cent, which was widely seen as too elaborate and occasionally giving rise to misperceptions about the governing council ’ s aspirations. the new formulation removes any possible ambiguity and resolutely conveys that two per cent is not a ceiling. the governing council ’ s commitment to the two per cent target is symmetric. symmetry means that the governing council considers negative and positive deviations of inflation from the target to be equally undesirable. to maintain the symmetry of its inflation target, the governing council recognises the importance of taking into account the implications of the effective