Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-26-Speech-2-116"
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"en.19991026.3.2-116"2
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"Mr President, Mr Duisenberg, the annual report from the European Central Bank shows that the bank has got off to a brisk start, and the steps taken so far have been on the right track. The transition to the third stage of EMU has taken place without problems. During its first months of operation, the bank has been able to adapt its working methods to the demands of the present day. Nevertheless, much has still to be done to raise the European Central Bank to the position to which it is entitled, though not automatically so. In the future we wish to see a strong and independent European Central Bank and not just one alongside our global competitors, Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, but, preferably, edging ahead of them. Building up its status and obtaining the confidence of markets will, however, take time, and we here in the European Parliament cannot presume that everything will happen in an instant.
In discussing the annual report in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, we had lively discussions on
the issue of transparency and how it can be gradually increased. Although transparency has undeniably increased and, for example, press conferences with the President, held after board meetings, have meant a clear improvement in the bank’s approach, the aim must be to increase transparency further, once the work of the bank becomes established and the teething problems disappear. The European Parliament must, as the representative of the European people, have the right to demand that in future, the ECB, like other central banks, should also publicise the arguments both in favour of, and against, its monetary policy decisions. Furthermore, the publication of abstracts of board meetings is justifiable, and the justifications for decisions taken must be clearly evident from these abstracts, so that market players can make their own decisions.
For my own part, I seriously considered my position regarding whether the individual opinions of the members of the board and possible decisions taken by a vote should be made public in the future. However, I ended by adopting the majority position of our group, justifying my decision by reflecting how this sort of approach might reduce rather than increase market confidence in the work of the bank in the early stages. It could also be just too big a step to take so early on. In the long term, however, I hope that transparency is fully realised at every stage, in this regard also. Information is power, and the dissemination of information in an open market economy is democracy. Market viability can be enhanced through the spread of information. The more evenly information is disseminated in a society, the more effectively individual choices steer the economy’s development and guide the invisible hand of the market.
Finally, I would like to say that I thoroughly support the publication of the reports on the economic situation of the countries in the euro area and the various indicators that go with it. The ECB may also comment on this information, but their analysis must, however, be left to national decision-makers. We have to remember that, although the euro area has just one monetary policy, we still have eleven different economic policies, for whose coordination the Member States are responsible, within the frameworks determined in the Growth and Stability Pact."@en1
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