The new Code of Conduct for high-level European Central Bank Officials was published on 16 December 2022 in the Official Journal of the European Union with the aim of harmonizing ethical conduct, compliance and transparency practices and ensuring the highest standards of integrity.
The Code applies to members of the Governing Council, members of the Supervisory Board in the exercise of their functions as members of high-level ECB bodies, and members of the ECB Executive Board. It also applies to persons replacing the members in meetings of the Governing Council or the Supervisory Board in the performance of their respective duties and responsibilities.
The Code contains a set of guiding principles for external communication and transparency, which introduce stronger coordination of interactions with interest groups and, in particular, financial market participants.
For each of the members of the Governing Council, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, a monthly calendar is published, listing meetings specifically related to their roles in the high-level ECB bodies. Calendars are published monthly (on the 15th or preceding working day if the 15th falls on a Saturday/Sunday/public holiday) with a time lag of about three months and complement the information otherwise available on the respective institution's website. The calendars include information on the date, name of participants/organisers, topic and location of the meeting/event. The names of participants are only disclosed for meetings with international or national public authorities. In order to preserve the confidentiality of the supervisory dialogue, meetings with supervised entities do not include the name or the topic of the meeting. The publication of calendars underscores the commitment of the ECB's Governing Council and Supervisory Board to transparency and accountability.
For the Bank of Italy, the Code applies to the Governor, Ignazio Visco, as member of the ECB Governing Council, and to Deputy Governor Alessandra Perrazzelli, as the representative of the Bank of Italy on the Supervisory Board of the ECB.
