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

External communication

Statement in support of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

On 13 January 2026 the ECB published a statement signed by central bankers around the world, including ECB President Christine Lagarde on behalf of the Governing Council, expressing their full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell and stressing the importance of central bank independence as a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability.

Climate and nature plan after 2025

On 16 January 2026 the ECB published a press release explaining that it had further embedded climate and nature-related risks into its core work, by concluding its climate and nature plan 2024-2025. The ECB reiterated its firm commitment to ensuring resilience by integrating climate and nature into its work, and explained it would continue intensifying work in three priority areas: transition to a green economy; coping with the  growing physical impacts of climate change on the economy and the financial system; and the impact of nature-related risks and ecosystem degradation.

Collaboration between the ECB and the ONCE Foundation to ensure universal access to the digital euro

On 18 February 2026 the ECB published a press release announcing a collaboration agreement with the ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities on the digital euro app, to ensure it is easily accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities or limited digital skills and older adults. More detailed information on the digital euro project is available in a dedicated section of the ECB’s website. 

Market operations

Remuneration of excess reserves held in current accounts of eligible monetary policy counterparties

In December 2025 the Governing Council decided to simplify the remuneration of excess reserves under Article 1(1) of Decision (EU) 2019/1743 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2019/31) and mandated the relevant Eurosystem/European System of Central Banks committees to prepare the implementation of this decision by the end of the first half of 2026. Accordingly, excess reserves held by institutions that are eligible as counterparties in Eurosystem monetary operations in accordance with Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60) will be remunerated at the deposit facility rate at all times, i.e. not only when this rate is negative. The application date for the simplified remuneration of excess reserves will be confirmed in conjunction with the publication of the amended legal acts implementing the decision.

Amendments to legal acts on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy / framework