•  As a cross-check to the economic analysis, the monetary analysis focuses on money and credit developments in recognition of empirical evidence suggesting that monetary growth and inflation tend to be related in the medium to long run. The final element is central bank independence. The Maastricht Treaty grants full political independence to the ECB in its pursuit of price stability.
In a democratic society, however, central bank independence needs to be counterbalanced by accountability, that is, an  2  BIS Review 54/2008  obligation on the part of the central bank to explain its decisions to the public and its elected representatives, including, in the case of the ECB, those in the European Parliament.