Since May 2010 at the latest, the ECB has been criticized for financing government bonds – at least indirectly – and for tolerating to be put under pressure by the fiscal side. The ECB itself has justified its securities markets programme and, thus, its government bond purchases by the need...

The paper analyses the role of national central banks (NCBs) in the governance of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), NCBs are the owners of the European Central Bank (ECB), and their governors dominate the ECB's Governing Council, but in monetary policy operations, NCBs are...