International cooperation

Close ties with non-EU institutions

The ECB’s involvement in international economic, monetary and financial cooperation is based on the EU’s legal framework.

For details, see:

• The ECB’s relations with international organisations and fora. ECB Monthly Bulletin article. January 2001,  pdf 1.12MB, en.
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The ECB is involved in international cooperation in respect of tasks entrusted to the Eurosystem. While the participation of the Eurosystem’s national central banks in international organisations and fora depends on their varying membership (e.g. Bank of International Settlement (BIS), G7, G20), the ECB is represented in all relevant bodies. In particular, the ECB takes part in the process of multilateral surveillance of the global economy by working together with many important institutions.
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Global economy

By participating in the meetings of international organisations and fora (see also the list below), the ECB contributes to

• the peer surveillance of economic developments and policies in major economic areas, and
• the monitoring of the global financial system to ensure its stability and efficiency. The ECB also regularly reviews the international role of the euro.

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Bilateral relations

As the central bank of the world’s second largest economic area, the ECB, together with the Eurosystem, has bilateral relations with relevant institutions in the following groups of countries worldwide:

• Major global players: the United States, Japan and the euro area play a major role in monetary and exchange rate matters within the G7 group;
• Neighbouring countries: an especially important region for the EU consisting of countries that, for reasons of geography and history, have strong economic, financial, trade and institutional links with the Union. The region comprises:
  • the EU candidate countries: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey;
  • the EU potential candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia;
  • Russia and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States;
  • various Mediterranean countries, the Middle East and Africa.
  Issues of mutual interest include exchange rate regimes, the use of the euro, regional economic cooperation with the EU and financial stability.
• Emerging global players: the emerging market economies that are members of the G20 are increasingly becoming of systemic relevance. The G20, to which the ECB and the EU also belong, is helping to integrate these economies into the international monetary and financial system;
• Regional entities: cooperation in a regional context, including monetary integration, has been developing in recent years in a number of areas of the world. The ECB and the Eurosystem cooperate with several central banks involved in these regional arrangements.

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ECB relations with main international institutions and fora ( 1 )

(1) This list is not exhaustive. It includes only the most relevant institutions and fora. The list of sub-structures within these institutions and fora in which the ECB participates is not exhaustive either.
(2) The ECB Representative in Washington attends IMF Executive Board meetings that deal with issues of direct relevance to the ECB, for instance, Article IV consultations on euro area policies or discussions on the world economic outlook.

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