While the Treaty provides for interaction between the ECOFIN Council and the ECB in a number of cases, these entities have well-defined responsibilities. This legal framework provides guidelines to give the euro area a voice at the international level.
In particular, when the external representation of the euro area in the field of international cooperation involves the tasks entrusted to the Eurosystem, decisions are centralised in the hands of the Governing Council of the ECB. This facilitates the decision-making process with regard to external representation.