91998E3548

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3548/98

by Ursula Stenzel (PPE) to the Commission

(1 December 1998)

Subject: European Central Bank

According to a recent study by the independent Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), the governors of the Member States' central banks have too much power in the ECB compared with the Executive Board and there is a risk that the governors might let themselves be guided too much by the needs of their own countries. This might arise particularly when decisions have to be taken quickly.

What are the Commission's views on this study, which also criticises the inadequate bank supervision and lack of clear structures for crisis management?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 1999)

The study in question is indeed, like other recent studies on the same subject, a valuable contribution to the public debate about the making of monetary policy in economic and monetary union (EMU). The Commission is of the opinion that the provisions of the Treaty and the European system of central banks (ESCB) statute on the structure, tasks and instruments are adequate for the conduct of an efficient, stability-oriented single monetary policy in the euro area.