Top ECB officials push back against stimulus criticism

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, listens to her deputy office leader Bernhard Kotsch after she arrived for the German government's weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)

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From left, Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, IWF, arrive for a press conference after a meeting of the heads of international economy and finance organizations at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, left, attends a meeting of Portugal's Council of State at the Belem presidential palace in Lisbon, Thursday, April 7 2016. The office of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal's new head of state, said he invited Draghi to the meeting to hear his views on Europe's economic and financial situation. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

FRANKFURT, Germany – Top officials of the European Central Bank are pushing back against criticism of their stimulus efforts from some politicians in Germany.

ECB executive council member Benoit Coeure said Thursday that "we have to act" to raise inflation toward the bank's goal of just under 2 percent.

Coeure reminded of the bank's independent status and said that "this is country where our independence should be upheld."

The ECB recently stepped up its injections of newly created money into the economy through bond purchases in an effort to raise inflation.

Conservative German legislators have reportedly criticized the bank's efforts as exceeding its powers and lowering interest returns for savers and pension programs. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble was quoted as saying this week that ECB policy was "less favorable" for Germany.