The actions by the European Central Bank (ECB) during the global and European crises have triggered a highly controversial debate, in particular in Germany, about the costs and benefits of the chosen policy path. The article reviews, compares, and evaluates the different arguments made in favor...

The Eurosystem collateral framework (ESCF) has played a key role in the ECB monetary policy implementation since 1999. Moreover, the financial and sovereign debt crisis and with it the increased reliance of banks on central bank credit have underlined the importance of central bank collateral...

This paper describes and analyses the evolution of euro area currency in circulation in the last years and especially in the run up to the cash change-over. In particular, it revisits the possible effect of the latter on the euro/dollar-exchange rate, which has been emphasised recently in the...