It was Hans who proposed not using members’ countries of origin to determine the seating plan for the Governing Council’s meetings and instead using alphabetical order to decide who sits next to whom. After all, the members of the Governing Council are there to represent the euro area as a whole. But maybe Hans just wanted to sit next to me.
In the euro area, the ECB's unconventional monetary policy and its communication to the markets have been crucial in order to support the euro area economy and helped the euro overcome its most severe crisis since its introduction. Taking on a greater role in the economic policy-making in this period has left central banks prone to criticism.