EU: Monetary policy Ic

The European Central Bank (ECB) offers the interested reader a number of publications on economic and monetary union (EMU). Here is a sample for students of history, politics, economics and law.

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An introductory brochure, available in 23 EU languages, is ‘The European Central Bank, the Eurosystem, the European System of Central Banks’ (2nd edition, April 2008). It presents the history of economic and monetary union, the structure and tasks of the European System of Central Banks, monetary policy, the Target2 System, the euro banknotes and coins and banking supervision, and it offers a handy glossary for the general reader. The English version is available at the website of the European Central Bank:

http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/escb_en.pdf

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Hanspeter K. Scheller: The European Central Bank ─ History, role and functions (2nd revised edition, 2006). The book is available in 13 languages; for the English version, go to:

http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/ecbhistoryrolefunctions2006en.pdf

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‘10th Anniversary of the ECB’ is the theme of the Special edition of the Monthly Bulletin (29 May 2008), with a comprehensive overview of monetary policy within the euro area. The English version is available at:

http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/10thanniversaryoftheecbmb200806en.pdf

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There are a number of useful publications on the ECB’s web pages, from the Monthly Bulletin and the handy Monthly Statistics Pocket Book to various specialist books and research papers. Look for Publications at:

http://www.ecb.europa.eu

The latest ECB Monthly Bulletin with economic and monetary developments, articles and euro area statistics (October 2008) is available at:

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/mobu/mb200810en.pdf

The latest Statistics Pocket Book with macroeconomic data (October 2008):

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/stapobo/spb200810en.pdf

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Both long term decisions and the current financial turmoil are reflected in the European Central Bank’s press releases, available at:

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2008/html/index.en.html

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If you are digging deeper, this legal blog or blawg would like to draw your attention to ‘Legal framework of the Eurosystem and the ESCB. ECB legal acts and instruments’ (July 2008), which “contains summaries of the legal acts and instruments constituting the legal framework of the Eurosystem and the ESCB. It covers the main legal acts and instruments that have been adopted by the ECB and published since the ECB’s establishment in June 1998 up to the end of 2007.”

In other words, this publication contains legal material at a deeper level than the treaty provisions this blog is currently focused on. Go to:

http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/legalframeworkeurosystemescb2008en.pdf

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The legal framework of the European Central Bank in its entirety can be accessed through:

http://www.ecb.int/ecb/legal/html/index.en.html

There is a helpful User Guide and links for detailed search.

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‘Legal aspects of the European System of Central Banks ─ Liber amicorum Paolo Zamboni Garavelli’ (2005) is a hefty compilation of articles about various legal aspects of European monetary policy:

http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/legalaspectsescben.pdf

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Is the European Central Bank secretive?


Ralf Grahn