The Evolution of the ECB's Accountability During the Euro Area Crisis

The aim of this paper is to analyse how the ECB's accountability has evolved during the euro area crisis. Over the past few years, ECB decisions have increasingly become the focus of public debate. Moreover, the ECB has been entrusted with new tasks, most notably the competence to supervise the euro area banking sector through the creation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism. It has also performed an advisory role to governments in the negotiation and monitoring of EU/IMF assistance programmes. Reflecting the more prominent role of the ECB during the crisis, the ECB's accountability has gained in intensity and has become multifaceted both in terms of topics covered and number of actors involved in the accountability regime. This paper conducts an empirical analysis of these developments since 2009. To do so, it analyses original data on the Monetary Dialogues (i.e. the quarterly hearings of the ECB President in front of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament) and written questions sent by MEPs to the ECB President. It also reviews the new accountability regime set up for the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Finally, it provides a preliminary assessment of these recent trends and discusses their possible evolution in the future.