Over the course of this last year, the ECB has continued to follow its monetary responsibilities in a highly demanding environment and continued to exert its mandated role in coping with the crisis with a high degree of responsiveness and farsightedness. Three things have been essential here.
First, the ECB has not stepped in to any roles that belong to governments – they too have to take their responsibilities for coping with the crisis  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  in a resolute manner. Second, the ECB has continued to cherish its independence.