According to the Statute of the ESCB and the ECB, the European System of Central Banks consists of the ECB and the national central banks of the 25 EU Member States. The monetary policy of the euro area is of course only determined by the ECB and the 12 national central banks of the euro area.
The general climate of caution in the business sector was manifest in a number of ways, including restrained hiring, a reluctance to invest in new capacity, and aggressive actions to maintain low levels of inventories.