30 March - 3 April European Parliament plenary session

MEPS agreed that the far-reaching independence of the new European Central Bank (ECB) should be matched by a correspondingly high level of accountability to the European Parliament. In addition, they said the bank should announce its definition of price stability and report to Euro MPs annually on inflation targets. The Parliament endorsed the ECB's objective of maintaining price stability, but asked that its president and executive board members meet MEPs once a quarter to discuss topical monetary developments.