Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is a committee
of the European Parliament
.
Since Economic and Monetary Union
(EMU), the most important function of this Committee (EMAC) has been in relation to the European Central Bank
(ECB). Although guaranteed independence under the Treaty, the ECB is accountable for its actions to EMAC. Every three months, the President of the Bank, or occasionally his deputy, appears before the Committee to report on monetary policy; both actions taken, and future prospects. He then answers question from MEP
s. These proceedings are televised; a verbatim report appears immediately on both the Parliament and ECN websites.
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Since Economic and Monetary Union
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...
(EMU), the most important function of this Committee (EMAC) has been in relation to the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
(ECB). Although guaranteed independence under the Treaty, the ECB is accountable for its actions to EMAC. Every three months, the President of the Bank, or occasionally his deputy, appears before the Committee to report on monetary policy; both actions taken, and future prospects. He then answers question from MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s. These proceedings are televised; a verbatim report appears immediately on both the Parliament and ECN websites.