Finally, we are also subject to the scrutiny of the European Data Protection Supervisor, which monitors and ensures that data protection legislation is appropriately applied to our dataprocessing operations. Aligning accountability with sovereignty in the EU The ECB’s monetary policy provides an example of how sovereignty and accountability can – and, ideally, should – be aligned when transferring a competence to European level.
It also shows that it is possible to keep pace with events and meet the demand for greater accountability from society, while respecting essential principles enshrined in primary law. However, there are two challenges in this regard that I would like to discuss as they also have broader relevance for the EU, with its unique institutional framework.