TheEuropean System of Central Banks (ESCB) is an institution that comprises theEuropean Central Bank (ECB) and thenational central banks (NCBs) of all 27member states of the European Union (EU).[1] Its objective is to ensureprice stability throughout the EU, and improve monetary and financial cooperation betweeneurozone and non-eurozone member states of the EU.[2]
The process of decision-making in theEurosystem is centralized through the decision-making bodies of the ECB, namely theGoverning Council and theExecutive Board. As long as there are EU member states which have not adopted theeuro, a third decision-making body, the General Council, shall also exist. The NCBs of the member states that do not participate in the eurozone are members of the ESCB with a special status – while they are allowed to conduct their respective national monetary policies, they do not take part in the decision-making with regard to the singlemonetary policy for the eurozone and the implementation of such decisions.
The Governing Council comprises all the members of the executive board and the governors of the NCBs of the member states without aderogation, that is, those countries which have adopted the euro. The main responsibilities of the Governing Council are:
The executive board comprises the President, the Vice-President and four other members, all chosen from among persons of recognized standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters. They are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states at the level of the Heads of State or Government, on a recommendation from theCouncil of Ministers after it has consulted theEuropean Parliament and the Governing Council of the ECB (i.e., the Council of theEuropean Monetary Institute (EMI) for the first appointments). The main responsibilities of the executive board are:
The General Council comprises the President and the Vice-President and the governors of the NCBs of all 27 member states. The General Council performs the tasks which the ECB took over from the EMI and which, owing to the derogation of one or more member states, still have to be performed in Stage Three ofEconomic and Monetary Union (EMU). The General Council also contributes to:
The Statute of the ESCB makes provision for the following measures to ensure security of tenure for NCB governors and members of the Executive Board:
The ESCB is composed of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 member states of the EU. The first section of the following list lists member states and their central banks that form the Eurosystem (plus the ECB), which set eurozone monetary policy. The second section lists member states and their central banks that maintain separate currencies.
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