Such a measure would draw attention to individual positions when in a euro area of 15 – and very soon 16 – countries, what counts is the position of the collegial decision maker, the Governing Council. It could also lead to pressures on Governing Council members to abandon their necessarily euro area perspective when taking monetary policy decisions.
As already emphasised on previous occasions, I see the Introductory Statement I present on behalf of the Governing Council at the monthly press conference as an equivalent to what other central banks call “summary minutes”. Together with the ensuing Q&A session, the Introductory Statement provides in real time a comprehensive overview, on the part of the Governing Council, of the current monetary policy stance.