Reflections on the Modalities for the Appointment of National Central Bank Governors

Publishers Abstract:
Despite regulating exhaustively the procedure for the appointment of the members of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, the Treaties are silent on the modalities for the appointment of the governors of the national central banks (NCBs) participating in the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). As a result, the governors' appointment is left entirely in the hands of their competent national authorities. This article examines the issue of the appointment, through exclusively national procedures, of the governors of the national central banks participating in the European System of Central Banks, and proposes ways in which the concerns to which it gives rise could be addressed.