29/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - In a report drafted for the CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research), a think-tank based in London, several experts including Paul de Grauwe, the unfortunate rival to Lucas Papademos for the post of Vice-President of the European Central Bank, state that the ECB is expected to rid itself of the instrument that it used as a "first pillar" in its policy for evaluating inflation in the euro zone, namely growth of M3 (the ECB has set itself a reference vale for annual growth of M3 at 4.5% in the medium term, while, last March, growth was 7.4%). The first pillar "needs demolition, not cosmetic improvement", say the experts, for whom the role attributed to M3 "looks increasingly ridiculous, giving perverse signals that the ECB probably ignores".