Editorial Board

Governments Have Put the ECB in a Bind

If you think it'll be hard for the Fed to normalize monetary policy, spare a thought for the European Central Bank.

March 20, 2017 at 5:00 AM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

Draghi's job isn't easy.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

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If you think it will be hard for the U.S. Federal Reserve to normalize monetary policy, spare a thought for the European Central Bank.

The euro zone's monetary guardians have said they will continue to buy 60 billion euros a month in government and corporate bonds until the end of 2017. Headline inflation is running at 2 percent -- the central bank's target is "close to but below" 2 percent -- and the bloc's recovery is finally under way. Soon the ECB will face the challenge of getting monetary policy back to normal.