The European Central Bank’s move to become more tolerant of inflation before raising interest rates has sparked immediate criticism from some of its more hawkish policymakers in an early indication of the divisions that will fuel its debate on when to scale back bond-buying.

After its latest policy-setting meeting on Thursday the ECB said it would keep buying bonds and maintain its deeply negative interest rates in an attempt to shift the eurozone economy out of its persistent pattern of sluggish inflation, and was prepared to tolerate a moderate and transitory overshoot of its price growth target.

But the wording of its new stance drew criticism from the leaders of the German and Belgian central banks, who both sit on its 25-person governing council, according to people familiar with the discussions.