The European Central Bank

Although nowhere in the statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) has the concept of the ESCB been defined, the setting up of the European Central Bank (ECB) nevertheless was inevitable. Whereas the ESCB represents a system, the ECB, which is meant to be the central bank for the European Union, will lead to the ESCB. What the position of the national central banks would be vis-à-vis the ECB remains unclear. There is the issue of whether the national central banks will remain accountable to both ESCB/ECB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and in the event of any conflict between the monetary policy of the ECB and that of the IMF, which one should prevail.