One of the pillars of the European Central Bank framework for the thorough analysis of risks to price stability, which is the basis of the monetary policy decisions taken by the Governing Council. The economic analysis is basically focused on the assessment of the current economic and financial situation and the implicit short and medium-term risks to price stability from the perspective of the interplay of supply and demand in goods, services and factor markets during the time span stated. Due attention is paid to the need to identify the nature of shocks hitting the economy, their effects on cost and pricing behaviour and the short to medium-term prospects for their propagation in the economy. See also "Monetary analysis".