Organization

The decision-making bodies of the European Central Bank (ECB) are the Governing Council, the General Council and the Executive Board.

In accordance with the powers and tasks defined in the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the ESCB/ECB Statute, the ECB, national central banks and the members of their decision-making bodies are fully independent of political and private institutions of the Member States and the European Union. Therefore, they shall not seek or take instructions from Community institutions or bodies, from any Government of a Member State or from any other body. A number of provisions aim at safeguarding the independence of the ECB and its decision-making bodies, also from a financial perspective.

The ECB complies with the obligations arising from the ESCB’s accountability, by presenting information and reports, and by explaining and justifying its decisions and activities to citizens and elected representatives. In particular, the President of the ECB presents the Annual Report on the activities of the ESCB and reports on the euro area monetary policy to the European Parliament. The annual report is also sent to the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Council. Institutional reporting to the European Parliament also includes participation in hearings and the preparation of written replies.

In addition to complying with statutory and institutional requirements, the ECB prepares and publishes other types of information and reports, addressing a variety of audiences, in particular via its website. It is also possible to access this information from the websites of ESCB national central banks. Moreover, the ECB’s accountability and transparency are reflected in its relationship with the media.

In line with existing commitments and mostly in cooperation with national central banks, key information is made available in the official languages of the Member States, namely through press releases on monetary policy decisions and reports associated with statutory reporting requirements. In this respect, Banco de Portugal prepares or contributes to the preparation of Portuguese versions, in accordance with a wide interpretation of the principles of openness and transparency adopted by the ESCB/Eurosystem.

The Executive Board manages the day-to-day business of the ECB and reports to the Governing Council.

External auditors and the European Court of Auditors examine the financial management of the ECB. At the internal level, its structure is broken down into several layers of control.

The Code of Conduct of the ECB applies to its entire staff, including Executive Board members. There is also a Code of Conduct for the members of the Governing Council.