As such, from the start, the Maastricht convergence criteria went beyond inflation to also include targets in terms of fiscal discipline.12 The Spanish experience in the effort to comply with these criteria illustrates and reinforces the critical importance of other policies, such as fiscal consolidation or liberalisation reforms. This is an important lesson not to be forgotten: central bank credibility is an essential element for the effectiveness of monetary policy, but monetary policy is more efficient when 11  The CRD IV/CRR regulatory package makes available a set of macroprudential instruments that national competent authorities can resort to with a view to preventing the emergence of cyclical systemic risks or mitigating structural systemic risks, such as: a) the capital conservation buffer; b) the countercyclical capital buffer; c) the buffer for other systemically important institutions; d) the systemic risk buffer. Regulating capital buffers aimed to (i) ensure a level playing field between EU Member States, as an essential pre-requisite for the functioning of the internal market, (ii) prevent regulatory arbitrage, (iii) ensure maximum harmonisation, and (iv) enhance transparency and predictability in the macroprudential field. See articles 130, 131,133, 134,135-140 of CRD IV. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013L0036&from=EN https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R0575&from=EN 12  See Hernández de Cos: El reto de la unión fiscal europea (2014): In response to the euro area sovereign debt crisis, there has been a deep reform of fiscal governance in the European Union.
22.11.2019  Reflections on the Past and Future of Central Bank Independence Seminar on The Relevance of Central Bank Independence: Challenges and Outlook/Banco de México Pablo Hernández de Cos Governor  Good morning. It is my pleasure to participate in this conference on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the autonomy of the Banco de México. I take the opportunity to congratulate you on this landmark. Events such as this contribute to highlighting the relevance of the independence of monetary authorities, and my words today will be along these lines. In my address I shall first briefly refer to the independence of the Banco de España, both as a national central bank in itself but also as a member of the European System of Central Banks. Then, I would like to share with you some more general thoughts about current challenges to central banking from the perspective of their independence. The independence of the Banco de España The Banco de España was granted institutional independence in July 1994. So this year, as is also the case for the Banco de México, marks the 25th anniversary of our Law of Autonomy. The independence of the Banco de España came about as part of the European economic integration process. Following the requirements laid down in the Maastricht Treaty, central banks in the European Union were meant to pursue the primary objective of price stability and be vested with a large degree of independence, both political and operational.