The official site of Italy's central bank

Decision-making bodies of the ECB

The Executive Board

The Executive Board comprises the President and the Vice-President of the ECB and four other members, appointed by common accord of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States which have adopted the euro.

The main responsibilities of the Executive Board, which as a rule meets once a week, are:
• to prepare the meetings of the Governing Council;
• to implement the monetary policy of the euro area in accordance with the guidelines and decisions adopted by the Governing Council, giving the necessary instructions to the euro area NCBs;
• to manage the day-to-day business of the ECB;
• to exercise certain powers delegated to it by the Governing Council, including those of a regulatory nature.

The Executive Board members each have one vote.

As a rule, the Board acts by a simple majority of the votes cast, and the President has the casting vote in the event of a tie (see Article 11 of the Statute of the ESCB/ECB).

The Executive Board members adhere to the Code of Conduct of the ECB (which gives guidance to and sets benchmarks for all members of staff of the ECB, as well as the members of the Executive Board, all of whom are expected to maintain high professional and ethical standards). They also follow a Supplementary Code of Ethical Criteria which further details the ethical regime applicable to the members of the Executive Board.