Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)

Monetary policy

Central bank compliance with prohibitions on monetary financing and privileged access
On 26 March 2025, in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which assigns to the ECB the task of monitoring the compliance of EU central banks with the prohibitions referred to in Articles 123 and 124 of the TFEU and the related regulations, the Governing Council approved the monitoring report covering 2024. Further information on this matter will be available in a dedicated section of the ECB’s Annual Report 2024, which will be published on the ECB’s website on 28 April 2025.

Advice on legislation

ECB Opinion on the profit distribution rules of Lietuvos bankas

On 19 March 2025 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2025/5 at the request of the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania.

ECB Opinion on the increase of Italy’s quota in the International Monetary Fund

On 24 March 2025 the Governing Council adopted Opinion​​​​​​​ CON/2025/6 at the request of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Statistics

Pilot project on granting access to confidential statistical information for scientific research bodies

On 7 March 2025 the Governing Council approved a​​​​​​​ pilot project to grant research access to anonymised confidential statistical data on individual banks in the euro area. The aim is to test the effectiveness and convenience of different access modes and to contribute to the potential establishment of a permanent infrastructure for research access to datasets managed by the ECB. A​​​​​​​ press release giving more details on the background to this initiative was issued on 13 March 2025.

Recast of the ECB Guideline on government finance statistics and amendment of the Service Level Agreement between the ECB’s Directorate General Statistics and Eurostat on data exchanges
On 7 March 2025 the Governing Council adopted Guideline ECB/2025/9, which introduces a more efficient process for sharing government finance statistics (GFS) between Eurostat and the ECB’s Directorate General Statistics. By allowing part of the national central banks’ GFS reporting to be submitted to the ECB by Eurostat under the new Service Level Agreement, the initiative significantly reduces the reporting obligations for national central banks, provided certain criteria are met. The new Service Level Agreement facilitates the transmission of non-validated national GFS by Eurostat to the ECB before publication, ensuring timely inputs for the work of Eurosystem and ECB staff.