BERLIN (MNI) – The German government and the Bundesbank are worried
that Germany could be shut out from important decisions on the ECB
Governing Council once the rotation system at the central bank becomes
effective, the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported Tuesday.
If two more countries join monetary union, a system will be set in
motion which foresees that the governors of the central banks of the
five biggest Eurozone member states will share four seats with voting
rights on the Council and rotate monthly, while the remaining governors
will share 10 seats. Those governors without voting rights can still
participate in the discussions of the Council.
The SZ did not cite any federal government or Bundesbank members in
its story but only Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Soeder, a member of
the CSU, the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU.
“The rotation procedure in its planned form carries risks for
Germany – namely that [the country] which carries the biggest liability
risk does not sit at the table precisely when it matters,” Soeder said.
He demanded that the governors from the five biggest Eurozone states
have permanent voting rights on the Council.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@mni-news.com
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