Jean-Claude Trichet: The European Monetary Union and the euro Speech by Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Financial Forum 2003, organised by The Wall Street Journal Europe and The New Economy Forum, Madrid, 25 February 2003. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and an honour to be with you today, on the occasion of the “Financial Forum 2003”, organised by the New Economy Forum and the Wall Street Journal Europe. I would like to present my views on the successful set-up of the euro, on the economic and financial integration of Europe and on the challenges that the euro-zone will confront going forward. The Euro: built on a successful set up Set-up of the Eurosystem The single monetary policy is formulated and implemented within a sound institutional framework, the Eurosystem, comprising the European Central Bank and the twelve national central banks of the euro area. Three principles underpin the Eurosystem: independence, transparency and decentralisation. The independence of both the European Central Bank and national central banks is enshrined in the Treaty. When exercising their powers and carrying out their tasks and duties, neither the central banks of the Eurosystem nor any member of its decision making bodies shall seek or take instructions from Community institutions, from any government of a Member State or from any other body. Independence refers to institutional, operational and financial independence.
ECB governance On 3 February 2003, the Governing Council of the ECB unanimously approved a Recommendation for a European Council decision, which is aimed at adjusting the voting modalities in the Governing Council in an enlarged euro area, in accordance with article 10.6 of the Statutes introduced by the Treaty of Nice. This adjustment became necessary so as to maintain the efficiency and timeliness of the Governing Council’s decision-making process. The Recommendation has been submitted to the EU Council. We hope that it will eventually be endorsed by the Heads of State and Government after both the European Parliament and the European Commission, which has already delivered its opinion, have been consulted. BIS Review 11/2003  1  As soon as the number of members of the Governing Council will reach 22, the total number of voting rights will be limited to 21. The six executive board members will have a permanent voting right and the NCB Governors will share the remaining 15 voting rights which will rotate among them according to pre-established rules. To ensure that all decisions taken by the Governing Council are representative of the euro area economy as a whole, Governors will be allocated to groups which differ with respect to the frequency with which their members will have voting rights. The allocation of Governors to groups will therefore be done in accordance with a ranking of their respective NCB’s, reflecting mainly the size of economies and of financial sectors.