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Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Meike Schreiber und Markus Zydra on 18 December 2023
22 December 2023
Inflation has recently fallen to 2.4%, more rapidly than expected. Are you satisfied?
We will only be satisfied if inflation falls sustainably to 2%. We currently foresee that inflation may pick up again temporarily in the near term, as base effects in energy prices reverse and government support measures expire, such as in Germany the gas price cap and the reduction in VAT on catering services. We expect that inflation will then gradually drop to 2% by 2025. So, we still have some way to go and we will see how difficult the famous last mile will be.
But you do want to go the last mile?
We must go the last mile: we have an inflation target of 2%.
Would 2.1% not be enough?
We want to return to 2% on a sustainable basis.
There is war in Ukraine and Gaza. How much do global crises influence the central bank’s work?
Geopolitical…