PARIS, (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has to remain open to all possibilities, Francois Villeroy De Galhau, ECB policymaker, said Tuesday.

The ECB is open to a rate rise in 2019 in light of rising inflation risks. They also indicated plans to discuss at a March 10 meeting the speed with which its bonds purchases will be restructured.

Villeroy made a speech at the London School of Economics and stated that it was useful to have a transition in between March’s end of extraordinary pandemic-era bonds purchases and March’s end of the traditional Asset Purchase Programme. Villeroy suggested this could happen in the third quarter.

Villeroy is the French central banking chief. He also suggested that it was possible to reduce the connection between end of asset purchases, rate rises, and the suggestion made by the ECB in its forward guidance, that a hike would happen “shortly” after.

“We could give ourselves more time and consider the latest inflation outlook before deciding about the calendar of rate hikes – a decision that anyway we don’t need to make before our June meeting,” Villeroy said.

He said, “Any speculation regarding the calendar for future liftoffs is at this point premature.”

Villeroy also repelled market speculation that the ECB would pause or slow hikes once rates are back in positive territory. Villeroy said that while there wasn’t a pre-determined course of action, that was possible.

The risk of a “unwarranted” increase in bond spreads across euro zone countries is reflected by his statement that the ECB may reactivate bond purchases from the pandemic era if required.