Monetary policy has fiscal implications since its effect on interest rates, inflation and output relaxes or tightens the general government inter-temporal budget constraint. Inflation dynamics is the result of both monetary policy and the fiscal response to it via the adjustment of the primary deficit. This column discusses estimates of the fiscal responses to monetary policy in the euro area. It shows that the more modest impact of unconventional monetary policy easing on inflation, if compared with the impact of conventional easing, can be explained by a more modest increase in the primary deficit in the former case.