The ECB’s Mandate: Perspectives on General Economic Policies

Summary:

The ECB has a clear primary objective to maintain price stability. The Treaty is less clear on how the ECB is required to fulfil its so-called secondary objective of “supporting general economic policies of the Union”. Just as the ECB was about to start its monetary policy strategy review which also provided an opportunity to clarify these elements of the mandate, the COVID-19 crisis brought the toughest test yet for its ability to deliver on the objectives. In addition, the German constitutional court delivered a judgement on the ECB’s public sector purchase programme (PSPP) which might bring further legal and economic consequences.

In advance of the Monetary Dialogue with ECB President Christine Lagarde on 8 June 2020, the ECON Committee’s Monetary Expert Panel has prepared a set of five papers on this topic. This publication is provided by Policy Department A at the request of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).

Table of Contents:

• The ECB Mandate: Perspectives on Sustainability and Solidarity | Rosa M. Lastra and Kern Alexander
• The ECB's Mandate and Legal Constraints | Karl Whelan
• The Dimensions of Responsibility: Perspectives on the ECB's Monetary Policy Mandate | Joseph E. Gagnon, Jacob F. Kirkegaard, David W. Wilcox and Christopher G. Collins
• Setting New Priorities for the ECB's Mandate | Christophe Blot, Jérôme Creel, Emmanuelle Faure and Paul Huber
• The ECB and the COVID-19 Crisis: Whatever it Takes, Within its Mandate | Grégory Claeys

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