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The European Central Bank (ECB) has made a significant contribution to price stability and, more broadly speaking, to financial stability. Over the years, it has taken on new tasks in response to fresh challenges, and its mandate has been interpreted in novel ways.

This conference examines the accountability of the ECB across the range of tasks that it nowadays carries out. How does the need to respond to new challenges and risks (e.g. those posed by, inter alia, climate change, the digital transition, critical market infrastructures, and the COVID-19 pandemic), and the concomitant increase in the powers of independent financial institutions or agencies (notably, the ECB and the European Supervisory Authorities), affect their independence and accountability? What is the appropriate level, type and degree of accountability and independence for their diverse tasks? Has the ECB’s accountability and transparency framework evolved sufficiently to match its expanded powers?

30 years since the Maastricht Treaty, which laid down the legal and institutional framework for the Economic and Monetary Union, and 20 years since the introduction of euro coins and banknotes, the time is, in our view, particularly ripe for this type of inquiry. The ECB’s recent monetary strategy review, together with its climate action plan, provide further fertile ground for a novel and all-encompassing reflection. The same is true for the recent changes made to EU financial law more broadly, including, but not limited, to the mandate of the European authorities entrusted with the micro- and macro-prudential supervision of the financial system in the Union, with which the ECB regularly interacts.

The key emphasis in this conference is on a range of topics that are pertinent to the increase (or change) in the ECB’s activity and –where appropriate– in the activity of other EU institutions, bodies or agencies, such as the European Systemic Risk Board and the European Supervisory Authorities. Accordingly, we have opted to focus on: 

• climate change and the role of central banks and financial supervisors (with emphasis on monetary policy and banking supervision); 
• digitalisation in the Economic and Monetary Union, thereby focusing on the ECB’s plans for a digital euro; 
• current monetary policy instruments, with particular emphasis on the outcome of the monetary strategy review and the ECB’s recent measures in response to the pandemic and beyond; and
• the ECB in macroprudential supervision. 

Participants are invited to analyse the role of the ECB –and, where appropriate, of other institutions, bodies and agencies and/or their interrelationship with the ECB– with respect to the topics adumbrated above. They are further asked to consider the implications of the developments they address in their contribution for the ECB’s accountability, as the case may be. Moreover, they are invited to make proposals for enhancing the existing legal and institutional framework, as well as –where appropriate– the ECB’s transparency, accountability and democratic legitimacy, whilst keeping in mind that some of these reforms could be implemented without changing the EU Treaties, whereas others could require a Treaty revision. 

Organisers

Professor Dr. Diane Fromage (University of Salzburg) and Dr. Menelaos Markakis (����ֱ��. The event is generously supported by the Erasmus Trustfonds (STOER Fonds) and the Erasmus Center for Economic and Financial Governance (Erasmus School of Economics & Erasmus School of Law).

For more information about this event, please contact Dr. Menelaos Markakis directly at markakis@law.eur.nl.