The General Council

comprises

• the President and Vice-President of the ECB, plus
• the governors of the national central banks (NCBs) of the 27 EU Member States.

In other words, the General Council includes representatives of the 16 euro area countries and the 11 non-euro area countries.

The other members of the ECB's Executive Board, the President of the EU Council and a member of the European Commission may attend the meetings of the General Council. But they do not have the right to vote.

Responsibilities

The General Council can be regarded a transitional body. It carries out the tasks taken over from the European Monetary Institute which the ECB is required to perform in Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on account of the fact that not all EU Member States have adopted the euro yet.

The General Council also contributes to

• the ECB's advisory functions;
• the collection of statistical information;
• the preparation of the ECB's annual reports;
• the establishment of the necessary rules for standardising the accounting and reporting of operations undertaken by the NCBs;
• the taking of measures relating to the establishment of the key for the ECB's capital subscription other than those already laid down in the Treaty;
• the laying-down of the conditions of employment of the members of staff of the ECB; and
• the necessary preparations for irrevocably fixing the exchange rates of the currencies of the EU Member States with a derogation against the euro.

In accordance with the Statute, the General Council will be dissolved once all EU Member States have introduced the single currency.

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Members

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• 
  Jean-Claude Trichet Curriculum vitae
  President of the ECB
  

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• 
  Vítor Constâncio
  Vice-President of the ECB
  

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• 
  Guy Quaden
  Governor, Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique
  

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• 
  Ivan Iskrov
  Governor, Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank)
  

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• 
  Miroslav Singer
  Governor, Česká národní banka
  

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• 
  Nils Bernstein
  Governor, Danmarks Nationalbank
  

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• 
  Axel A. Weber
  President, Deutsche Bundesbank
  

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• 
  Andres Lipstok
  Governor, Eesti Pank
  

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• 
  Patrick Honohan
  Governor, Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland
  

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• 
  Georgios Provopoulos
  Governor, Bank of Greece
  

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• 
  Miguel Fernández Ordóñez
  Governor, Banco de España
  

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• 
  Christian Noyer
  Governor, Banque de France
  

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• 
  Mario Draghi
  Governor, Banca d'Italia
  

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• 
  Athanasios Orphanides
  Governor, Central Bank of Cyprus
  

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• 
  Ilmārs Rimšēvičs
  Governor, Latvijas Banka
  

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• 
  Reinoldijus Šarkinas
  Chairman of the Board, Lietuvos bankas
  

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• 
  Yves Mersch
  Governor, Banque centrale du Luxembourg
  

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• 
  András Simor
  Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank
  

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• 
  Michael C. Bonello
  Governor, Central Bank of Malta
  

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• 
  Nout Wellink
  President, De Nederlandsche Bank
  

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• 
  Ewald Nowotny
  Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank
  

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• 
  Marek Belka
  President, Narodowy Bank Polski
  

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• 
  Carlos Costa
  Governor, Banco de Portugal
  

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• 
  Mugur Isărescu
  Governor, Banca Naţională a României
  

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• 
  Marko Kranjec
  Governor, Banka Slovenije
  

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• 
  Jozef Makúch
  Governor, Národná banka Slovenska
  

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• 
  Erkki Liikanen
  Governor, Suomen Pankki - Finlands Bank
  

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• 
  Stefan Ingves
  Governor, Sveriges Riksbank
  

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• 
  Mervyn King
  Governor, Bank of England
  

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•  

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Legal basis

See Articles 45, 46 and 47 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank for the provisions regarding the General Council.

Article 45.2: “The General Council shall comprise the President and Vice-President of the ECB and the governors of the national central banks. The other members of the Executive Board may participate, without having the right to vote, in meetings of the General Council.”

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