It will, of course, offer expertise and exchange views when and where appropriate. However, the best contribution the ECB can make to a stable international monetary system, including stable exchange rates and smoothly functioning international capital markets, is to maintain price stability within the euro area. Fulfilling the mandate assigned to it by the Maastricht Treaty will help the ECB shoulder its international responsibilities.
The Eurosystem takes a neutral stance with regard to the international role of the euro. It neither promotes nor hinders the development of the euro as an international currency. The Eurosystem accepts the international role of the euro as it develops through market forces. There will be no deliberate policy of challenging third currencies.