ECB Mandate Change Wanted by Some EU Countries 'Unrealistic'

On June 11, a source in one of the political groups of the European Parliament told RIA Novosti that several southern EU countries, including Spain and Cyprus, were in favor of introducing changes to the mandate of the ECB, which is based on the model of the German Federal Bank.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov — The chances of a change in the mandate of the European Central Bank (ECB) are virtually not existent, Vincent Brousseau, a member of the executive board of the French Popular Republican Union party told Sputnik on Tuesday.

“A change of the ECB’s mandate would require unanimous consent and a lengthy validation procedure throughout the various parliaments of the EU… Let us mention that unanimity requires, among other things, the consent of Germany. Thinking that Germany would accept to modify the ECB’s mandate is completely unrealistic,” Brousseau said.

The party's executive board member, whose remit also includes financial matters, added that any scenario for modifying the mandate quickly and easily was "just a lie."

Brousseau explained that most people do not understand the procedural and political constraints hidden in any proposal to change the mandate of the ECB, the financial institution that administers the monetary policy of the entire Eurozone.