Like the Federal Reserve System in the United States, Europe’s central bank is organised as a federal system. In the centre is the ECB, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The national central banks (NCBs) of the countries which have adopted the euro are also part of what we call the Eurosystem. Monetary policy decisions are made by the Governing Council of the ECB.
This Council comprises the six members of the ECB’s Executive BIS Review 115/2000  2  Board and the Governors or Presidents of the NCBs of the countries which have adopted the euro. Decisions are made on a one person/one vote basis. This reflects the fact that they always have to be made in the interest of the euro area as a whole.