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General Council

The General Council comprises the President and the Vice-President of the ECB and the governors of the national central banks (NCBs) of the EU Member States.

In other words, the General Council includes representatives of all euro area countries and all non-euro area countries in the EU.

The other members of the ECB's Executive Board, the President of the EU Council and one member of the European Commission may attend the meetings of the General Council but do not have the right to vote.

Responsibilities

The General Council can be regarded as a transitional body. It carries out the tasks taken over from the European Monetary Institute which the ECB is required to perform in Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union on account of the fact that not all EU Member States have adopted the euro yet.
The General Council also contributes to:

  • the ECB's advisory functions;
  • the collection of statistical information;
  • the preparation of the ECB's annual report;
  • the establishment of the necessary rules for standardising the accounting and reporting of operations undertaken by the NCBs;
  • the taking of measures relating to the establishment of the key for the ECB's capital subscription other than those laid down in the Treaty;
  • the laying-down of the conditions of employment of the members of staff of the ECB; and
  • the necessary preparations for irrevocably fixing the exchange rates of the currencies of the "EU Member States with a derogation" against the euro.

In accordance with the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, the General Council will be dissolved once all EU Member States have introduced the single currency.

Members

Christine Lagarde

President of the ECB

Luis de Guindos

Vice-President of the ECB

Pierre Wunsch

Governor, Nationale Bank van België / Banque Nationale de Belgique

Dimitar Radev

Governor, Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank)

Aleš Michl

Governor, Česká národní banka

Christian Kettel Thomsen

Governor, Danmarks Nationalbank

Joachim Nagel

President, Deutsche Bundesbank

Madis Müller

Governor, Eesti Pank

Gabriel Makhlouf

Governor, Central Bank of Ireland

Yannis Stournaras

Governor, Bank of Greece

José Luis Escrivá

Governor, Banco de España

François Villeroy de Galhau

Governor, Banque de France

Boris Vujčić

Governor, Hrvatska narodna banka

Fabio Panetta

Governor, Banca d'Italia

Christodoulos Patsalides

Governor, Central Bank of Cyprus

Mārtiņš Kazāks

Governor, Latvijas Banka

Gediminas Šimkus

Chairman of the Board, Lietuvos bankas

Gaston Reinesch

Governor, Banque centrale du Luxembourg

György Matolcsy

Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Edward Scicluna

Governor, Central Bank of Malta

Klaas Knot

President, De Nederlandsche Bank

Robert Holzmann

Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Adam Glapiński

Governor, Narodowy Bank Polski

Mário Centeno

Governor, Banco de Portugal

Mugur Constantin Isărescu

Governor, Banca Națională a României

Boštjan Vasle

Governor, Banka Slovenije

Peter Kažimír

Governor, Národná banka Slovenska

Olli Rehn

Governor, Suomen Pankki - Finlands Bank

Erik Thedéen

Governor, Sveriges Riksbank

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