The Constitutional Status of the European Central Bank

Abstract:

It is now more than eight years since the European Central Bank (ECB) was established in Frankfurt am Main. Steadily, the ECB has conducted the monetary policy for initially eleven, today thirteen Member States with 315 million citizens, and has thereby ensured that the euro has become a stable currency with a low inflation rate of close to 2% on average.

The legal dispute before the European Court of Justice concerned the fight against fraud and the scope of the investigative competences of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to protect the financial interests of the Community. The importance of the OLAF decision goes well beyond its immediate results. This is a welcome clarification which will help considerably to further develop a uniform legal concept of supranational central bank independence in Community law in the future. The ECB is certainly part of the Community framework and subject to the rule of Community law.