Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)

On 5 December 2024 the Governing Council approved changes to the publication of monetary policy portfolio data under the PEPP, because with the discontinuation of reinvestments under the PEPP at the end of 2024 there will be, for the first time since 2014, no bonds purchased by the Eurosystem under either the asset purchase programme (APP) or the PEPP. The changes foreseen will ensure that the level of transparency provided by the data published going forward remains appropriate. In particular, the publication of the primary/secondary market breakdown for the PEPP’s private sector programmes will be discontinued, to align practices with recent changes to the publication regime for the APP’s private sector programmes. In addition, the PEPP data will be published once a month instead of once every two months, to match the equivalent APP data series, and historical monthly data for the series since the start of the programme will be published. The PEPP and APP publication regimes will be further aligned, with the publication of both backward and forward-looking redemption data for the PEPP. All changes, which will be reflected in an updated PEPP FAQ on the ECB’s website, will be implemented as from 8 January 2025.

Advice on legislation

ECB Opinion on the obligation to accept cash payments

On 6 December 2024 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2024/39 at the request of the Dutch Minister of Finance.

Corporate governance

Membership of the ECB Audit Committee

On 11 December 2024 the Governing Council appointed Olli Rehn, Governor of Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank, as member to the Audit Committee for a term of three years running until end-2027. Mr Rehn will succeed Yannis Stournaras, Governor of the Bank of Greece, whose mandate as member of the Audit Committee has come to an end.

Statistics

Updated timeline for the harmonisation of banks’ statistical reporting

On 4 December 2024 the ECB issued a press release announcing an updated timeline for the Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF) programme, which will harmonise statistical reporting across euro area banks, reduce the reporting burden and enhance the quality of data available to policymakers and analysts. IReF reporting is currently planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2029. A detailed implementation plan is due to be released in late 2025.