Governing Council formally recommends new voting system

4 February 2003

On 3 February 2003, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) unanimously approved the ECB Recommendation for a Council Decision on an amendment to Article 10.2 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank [pdf 50kB]. The ECB Recommendation is based on Article 10.6 of the Statute of the ESCB introduced by the Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003. In so doing, the ECB complied with the Member States' request to present a Recommendation "as soon as possible" after the entry into force of the said Treaty.

The ECB Recommendation provides for an adjustment of the voting modalities in the Governing Council which will become necessary to maintain its capacity for efficient and timely decision-making in an enlarged euro area. Details of the recommended future voting modalities have already been published in the ECB Press Release of 20 December 2002 [pdf 30kB].

The ECB Recommendation has been submitted to the EU Council. The latter, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government, will unanimously decide on an adjustment of the voting modalities in the Governing Council on the basis of the ECB Recommendation and after taking into account the opinions of the European Commission and the European Parliament. The agreed amendment will then be recommended to the Member States for ratification in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.