2021 was the year in which the "euro area" moved "on a more solid path of recovery after the pandemic emergency" but now, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the ECB is "ready to take any action necessary to fulfill the mandate to pursue price stability and to help preserve financial stability".
This is what we read in the introduction to the central bank's annual report, drawn up shortly before the start of the conflict, which highlights how last year the real GDP of the eurozone rose by 5.3% with a deceleration at the end of the year. and a sharp rise in inflation.
The number of counterfeit euro banknotes fell to an all-time low in 2021, the ECB report also states that "the number of counterfeits last year was 347 thousand, or a ratio of 12 counterfeit banknotes per million banknotes in circulation" .
The "quality of the fakes remains low" notes the ECB and this "makes their discovery fast and easy through the simple '' touch-look-move 'test.