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European Central Bank (ECB)

European Central Bank (ECB)

The European Central Bank is the central bank of the euro area. Established on 1 June 1998 and headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, it operates as an independent institution whose primary objective is to maintain price stability and conduct a single monetary policy for euro-area countries. Together with the national central banks of the countries that have adopted the euro, it forms the Eurosystem. More broadly, it is part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which brings together the ECB and the central banks of all EU Member States.

The ECB conducts monetary policy and foreign exchange operations, oversees the smooth functioning of payment systems and authorises the issuance of euro banknotes. The physical introduction of banknotes into circulation is carried out by the Eurosystem’s national central banks. The ECB also works with national central banks to collect and compile monetary and financial statistics used for monetary policy, financial stability and macroeconomic analysis. Since 2014, under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), the ECB has exercised prudential supervision over banks in the euro area and in EU countries participating in close cooperation.

Statistics Poland cooperates with the European System of Central Banks — including the National Bank of Poland (NBP) — in areas where official statistics and central banking intersect. As a member of the ESCB, the NBP develops and transmits Poland’s statistics on the balance of payments, international investment position and external debt, in line with EU standards and ESCB guidelines. Since 2013, cooperation between the European Statistical System (ESS) and the ESCB has been coordinated by the European Statistical Forum (ESF), which aligns statistical priorities and work programmes across the two systems. Meetings of the ESF bring together representatives of the ESS Committee (ESSC) — including the President of Statistics Poland — and the ESCB Statistics Committee (STC), represented by the NBP.

Why does it matter?

  • A single monetary policy with a clear inflation target increases predictability for households and businesses across the euro area.
  • Common standards for monetary and financial statistics — including concepts, classifications and transmission schedules — ensure comparability and improve the quality of analyses over time and across countries.
  • The Single Supervisory Mechanism reduces systemic risk and strengthens confidence in the financial sector.
  • For Statistics Poland and the NBP, ESS–ESCB cooperation enables joint development of standards, better use of available data sources and reduced burden on respondents. This leads to more comprehensive data that support public policies and economic decision-making.

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