European Central Bank

Speech

Ensuring legitimacy is an ongoing process

Our European Union is founded on the value of democracy. Legitimacy within our democratic system requires that all European citizens have a choice and a voice, says ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos. The efforts of institutions are needed to ensure this legitimacy.
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21 February 2019EVENT

EU Datathon competition

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21 February 2019ACCOUNT

Account of January monetary policy meeting

The Governing Council confirmed the enhanced forward guidance on the interest rates path and on the reinvestments of acquired assets at its monetary policy meeting in January. It was acknowledged that the risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook had moved to the downside.

Account

21/02/2019: Account of the monetary policy meeting
ENGLISH
21/02/2019: Financial statements of the ECB for 2018
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19/02/2019: Consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem as at 15 February 2019
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Commentary
ENGLISH
19/02/2019: Euro area financial vehicle corporation statistics: fourth quarter of 2018
ENGLISH
19/02/2019: Euro area investment fund statistics: fourth quarter of 2018
ENGLISH

All press releases

21/02/2019: Peter Praet: On the importance of real estate statistics
Speech by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the International Conference on Real Estate Statistics, Luxembourg, 21 February 2019
ENGLISH
20/02/2019: Peter Praet: Economic situation and outlook
Presentation by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Frankfurt Main Finance Breakfast, Frankfurt am Main, 20 February 2019
ENGLISH
19/02/2019: Luis de Guindos: Euro at 20 years: the road ahead
Address by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the European Parliamentary Week, Brussels, 19 February 2019
ENGLISH
15/02/2019: Benoît Cœuré: The euro’s global role in a changing world: a monetary policy perspective
Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York City, 15 February 2019
ENGLISH
13/02/2019: Sabine Lautenschläger: Risks to banks – from inside and out
Speech by Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 14th Asia-Pacific High-level meeting on Banking Supervision, in Sydney, 13 February 2019
ENGLISH

All speeches

19/02/2019: Luis de Guindos: Interview with Le Monde
Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Marie Charrel on 13 February 2019
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FrançaisFR
18/02/2019: Peter Praet: Interview with Börsen-Zeitung
Interview with Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Detlef Fechtner and Mark Schrörs on 11 February 2019 and published on 18 February 2019
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DeutschDE
07/02/2019: Benoît Cœuré: Interview with Barron’s
Interview with Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Pierre Briançon on 5 February 2019 and published on 7 February 2019
ENGLISH
01/02/2019: Sabine Lautenschläger: Interview with hr-iNFO – the Interview
Interview with Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, conducted by Mariela Milkowa on 29 January 2019 and broadcast on 1 February 2019
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DeutschDE
25/01/2019: Benoît Cœuré: Interview with Bloomberg TV
Interview with Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Francine Lacqua on 25 January 2019
ENGLISH

All interviews

22/02/2019: Qualitative stock-taking questionnaire on the integrated reporting framework
Analysis of high-level considerations and high-priority technical aspects
ENGLISH
22/02/2019: The ESCB Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF): an overview
ENGLISH
22/02/2019: Research bulletin no. 55: Interest rate risk in the euro area
ENGLISH
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21/02/2019: Annual Accounts 2018
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21/02/2019: Consolidated balance sheet of the Eurosystem as at 31 December 2018
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18/02/2019: Working paper no. 2244: Credit, financial conditions and the business cycle in China
ENGLISH
18/02/2019: Working paper no. 2243: Monetary policy transmission to mortgages in a negative interest rate environment
ENGLISH
15/02/2019: Working paper no. 2242: The anatomy of the euro area interest rate swap market
ENGLISH
15/02/2019: Working paper no. 2241: Debt overhang, rollover risk, and corporate investment: evidence from the European crisis
ENGLISH
14/02/2019: Working paper no. 2240: Breaking the shackles: Zombie firms, weak banks and depressed restructuring in Europe
ENGLISH

All publications

15/02/2019: Opinion on the licensing and supervision of providers of microcredit (CON/2019/07)
Greece,
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EλληνικάEL
13/02/2019: Opinion on a proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (CON/2019/06)
ENGLISH
12/02/2019: Opinion on banning the use of euro 500 denomination banknotes and on certain amendments to anti-money laundering legislation (CON/2019/05)
Denmark,
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DanskDA
01/02/2019: Opinion on limitations to cash payments (CON/2019/04)
Spain,
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EspañolES
30/01/2019: Opinion on remuneration for executives and senior management in Narodowy Bank Polski (CON/2019/03)
Poland,
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PolskiPL

All legal acts

18 February 2019#EUROAT20

Win an iPad or an Interrail trip!

How much do you know about the ECB and the euro? We have teamed up with QuizClash to launch a special competition: you have until 10 March to play our #EUROat20 quiz on the app and win an Interrail Pass or an iPad!

#EUROAT20

How you benefit from the euro

The euro is nearly 20 years old and has become a part of everyday life for the 340 million people living in the euro area. How do you benefit from a safe and stable currency?

Read our explainer
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Visit #EUROat20 hub
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БългарскиBG ČeštinaCS DanskDA DeutschDE EλληνικάEL EspañolES Eesti keelET SuomiFI FrançaisFR HrvatskiHR MagyarHU ItalianoIT LietuviųLT LatviešuLV MaltiMT NederlandsNL PolskiPL PortuguêsPT RomânăRO SlovenčinaSK SlovenščinaSL SvenskaSV

Interest rates

Marginal lending facility	0.25 %
Main refinancing operations (fixed rate)	0.00 %
Deposit facility	− 0.40 %

Effective from 16 March 2016

Past key ECB interest rates

Inflation rates

Full inflation chart
Inflation dashboard

Reference rates

USD	US dollar	1.1354
JPY	Japanese yen	125.70
GBP	Pound sterling	0.86805
CHF	Swiss franc	1.1367

Last update: Thursday, 21 February 2019 Euro foreign exchange rates

Financial stability

Market operations

Multimedia

Travelogue: ECB Executive Board member Benoît Cœuré visiting Vorwerk factory in Cloyes-sur-le-Loir
Unveiling of the New 100 and 200 Euro Banknotes
20 years of ESCB statistics: What's next?
20th anniversary – Staff testimonials / First Day at the ECB
ECB Forum on Central Banking 2018
How are Executive Board members chosen?
Interview with Vítor Constâncio. ECB Vice-President (2011 – 2018)
Financial Stability Review - May 2018
Vítor Constâncio interview on the Financial Stability Review - May 2018
How does the euro help Europeans do business?
What is ethical hacking?
Generation €uro Students' Award 2018
Communications challenges for policy effectiveness, accountability and reputation
Meeting the #EuroVideoChallenge finalists at the award ceremony
What is TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS)?
#ECBYouthDialogue - Dublin, Ireland
Highlights ECB Forum on Central Banking 2017
#ECBYouthDialogue - Lisbon 2017
Interview Vítor Constâncio on Financial Stability Review
EU Open Days - May 2017
Generation €uro Students' Award 2017
The new €50 banknote is now in circulation
How quantitative easing works
15 years of the euro
Inside the Asset Purchase Programme
ECB and the Eurosystem explained in 3 min.

ECB Press Conference - 25 October 2018
European Cultural Days - 25 September 2018
Visit of German Federal President Steinmeier to the ECB - 26 Sep 2018
ECB Press Conference - 13 September 2018
New €100 & €200 - Security features
Estonian Art Vernissage - 27 June 2018
ECB Forum on Central Banking - 18/20 June 2018
ECB Press Conference - 14 June 2018
EU Open Day - 5 May 2018
Joint Conference of the European Central Bank and the European Commission - 3 May 2018
ECB Press Conference - 26 April 2018
Generation €uro Students’ Award - 10 -11 April 2018
Luminale: Cross Hatch - 18 March 2018
ECB Press Conference - 8 March 2018
Central Bank Communications Conference - 14-15 November 2017
2017 #EuroVideoChallenge Award Ceremony in Lyon - 9 November 2017
European Cultural Days - 26 October 2017
ECB Press Conference - 26 October 2017
Inauguration ECB Visitor Centre – 4 October 2017
Sendung mit der Maus - 3 October 2017
#ECBYouthDialogue, Dublin - 22 September 2017
Opening of the Cyprus Contemporary Art Exhibition - 20 September 2017
ECB Press Conference - 7 September 2017
ECB Press Conference - 20 July 2017
#ECBYouthDialogue - 26 June 2017, Lisbon, Portugal
ECB Forum on Central Banking - Sintra, Portugal, 26-28 June 2017
ECB Press Conference - 8 June 2017, Tallinn
EU Open Day in Brussels - 6 May 2017
ECB Open Day for women in technical fields - 04 May 2017
ECB Press Conference - 27 April 2017
The new €50 banknote - 4 April 2017
Generation Euro Students' Award - 4/5 April 2017
Europe's digital integrated market - 31 January 2017
25 November 2016 UN Orange Day
17 October 2016 Cultural Days Opening Concert
3 October 2016 Türen Auf!
Unveiling of the new €50 banknote
Young Economists at ECB Forum on Central Banking
ECB Main Building
Luminale 2016 - ECB's illuminated buildings

The international role of the euro, June 2018
Financial integration in Europe, May 2018
Price and wage-setting in advanced economies
ESCB Legal Conference 2018
Legal framework of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks. ECB legal acts and instruments
Statistics for Economic and Monetary Union. Enhancements and new directions, 2003-12, by Peter Bull
The monetary policy of the ECB
The payment system – payments, securities and derivatives, and the role of the Eurosystem in this field