Reuters reports that ECB board member Fabio Panetta said that the ECB must not reduce stimulus too early and should retain the exceptional flexibility of its emergency bond purchase scheme beyond the current crisis.

"The pandemic emergency purchase programme has shown the benefits of flexible monetary policies when differences in financing conditions across countries represent a persistent obstacle to the transmission mechanism," Panetta said.

"We should strive to retain the 'unconventional flexibility' that has served us well during the pandemic," Panetta told.

Those comments could put Panetta on a collision course with influential policymakers such as ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, who have both argued against retaining all of PEPP's flexibility beyond the current crisis.

Panetta also warned against cutting ECB support too soon, saying an early retreat would push up borrowing costs too much and would eventually force the ECB to ramp up purchases later.