Meetings and decisions

The Governing Council usually meets twice a month at the Eurotower in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

At its first meeting each month, the Governing Council assesses monetary and economic developments and takes its monthly monetary policy decision. At its second meeting, the Council discusses issues related to other tasks and responsibilities of the ECB and the Eurosystem.

The minutes of the meetings are not published, but the monetary policy decision is announced at a press conference held shortly after the first meeting each month. The President, assisted by the Vice-President, chairs the press conference.

Vocabulary

To maintain	Поддерживать
To conduct	Проводить
To pursue	Осуществлять
Objective	Цель
Cooperation	Сотрудничество
To contribute	Вносить вклад
Legal tender	Законное платежное средство
Participant	Участник
Currently	В настоящее время
To link	Связывать
Legal	Официальный, законный
To involve	Вовлекать
To monitor	Контролировать
Stocks	Запасы
Shortage	Недостаток, нехватка
Surplus	Избыток
Demand	Спрос
Definition	Определение
Implementation	Осуществление
Smooth	Ровный, плавный, стабильный
Governing Council	Совет управляющих
Executive Board	Исполнительный совет
To adopt	Принимать
Guidelines	Основные направления
To ensure	Обеспечивать
To entrust	Возлагать, поручать
To relate to	Относиться к чему-либо
To assess	Оценивать
Issue	Вопрос
The minutes	Протокол
To announce	Объявлять

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Drill 1. Find the equivalents of the following phrases in the text:

• поддерживать стабильность цен;

• проводить единую денежно-кредитную политику;

• осуществлять цель;

• крупнейшая в истории мира перестройка денежно-кредитной системы;

• обменный курс не является фиксированным;

• де юре (официально, по закону);

• де факто (на практике);

• иметь право на выпуск евро;

• изымать банкноты из обращения;

• контролировать запасы банкнот и монет евро;

• компенсировать нехватку банкнот в одной стране за счет излишков в центральном банке другой страны;

• покрывать любые серьезные изменения спроса, используя дополнительные стратегические резервы;

• проводить валютные операции;

• управлять официальными валютными резервами;

• способствовать стабильной работе платежных систем;

• принимать основные направления;

• обеспечивать выполнение задач, возложенных на Евросистему;

• решения, относящиеся к целям денежно-кредитной политики, процентным ставкам, обеспечением резервов для Евросистемы;

• оценивать достижения в области экономики и денежно-кредитной политики;

• объявлять решения в денежно-кредитной политике на пресс-конференции.

Drill 2. Find the adverbs related to the following adjectives:

Free	Close
Current	Usual
Physical	Short

Drill 3. Find the nouns related to the following adjectives:

Stable	Central
Monetary	Short
Cooperative	Strategic
National	Executive
Successful	Economic
Participating	Responsible

Drill 4. Find the nouns related to the following verbs:

To change	To promote
To develop	To conduct
To circulate	To govern
To participate	To decide
To define	To perform
To implement	To supply
To manage	To establish

Drill 5. Find the adjectives related to the following geographical names:

Europe	Finland
Belgium	Cyprus
Germany	Denmark
Greece	Estonia
Spain	Hungary
France	Lithuania
Ireland	Malta
Italy	Poland
Luxemburg	Slovakia
Netherlands	Slovenia
Austria	Sweden
Portugal	United Kingdom

Drill 6. Find the synonyms for the following words and expressions in the text:

Single currency	Council
The main directions	To implement
Purpose	Two times a month
To control	Achievement
Reserve	To help
Official	Participant
To cover shortage	Now

Drill 7. Find the words and expressions with the opposite meaning in the text:

Shortage	Free
Supply	Legally
To issue	Participant
Inflation	The first step

Drill 8. Answer the following questions:

1. When was the ECB established?

2. What kind of establishment is known as the Eurosystem?

3. What was the final step in the world’s largest monetary changeover?

4. When did the euro become a legal tender?

5. How many participants does the Eurosystem currently consist of? Enlist them.

6. Who issues and withdraws euro banknotes?

7. How is the shortage of banknotes in any country compensated?

8. What is the main aim of the ECB?

9. What are the basic tasks of the ECB?

10. What is the governing body of the ECB?

Drill 9. Match the terms with the appropriate definitions:

1. Competition	a) an increase in the general level of prices in an economy that is sustained over a period of time.
2. Foreign exchange market	b) the particular amount of interest which a household or business borrower is required to pay to a lender for borrowing a particular sum of money to finance spending on consumption and investment.
3. Inflation	c) a process whereby firms strive against each other to secure customers for their products, i.e. the active rivalry of firms for customers using price variations, product differentiation strategies, etc.
4. Interest rate	d) the part of country’s money supply which is, in the eyes of the law, totally acceptable in payment for the purchase of goods and services or repayment of debt.
5. Legal tender	e) a market engaged in the buying and selling of foreign currencies.

Drill 10. Fill in the blanks and translate the following abstract:

The Statute of the European Central Bank is an integral … of the Maastricht … . Article 2 of the ECB … states that “the primary … of the ECB shall be to maintain … … . Without prejudice to the objective of price stability, it shall support the general … policies in the Community with a view to contributing to the achievement of the … of the Community. The ECB shall act … … … the principles of an open … economy with free …, favouring an efficient allocation of resources.”