The General Council

The General Council comprises

• the President of the ECB;
• the Vice-President of the ECB; and
• the governors of the national central banks (NCBs) of the 27 EU Member States.

In other words, the General Council includes representatives of the 17 euro area countries and the 10 non-euro area countries.

The other members of the ECB's Executive Board, the President of the EU Council and one member of the European Commission may attend the meetings of the General Council but do not have the right to vote.

Responsibilities

The General Council can be regarded as a transitional body. It carries out the tasks taken over from the European Monetary Institute which the ECB is required to perform in Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union on account of the fact that not all EU Member States have adopted the euro yet.

The General Council also contributes to:

• the ECB's advisory functions;
• the collection of statistical information;
• the preparation of the ECB's annual report;
• the establishment of the necessary rules for standardising the accounting and reporting of operations undertaken by the NCBs;
• the taking of measures relating to the establishment of the key for the ECB's capital subscription other than those laid down in the Treaty;
• the laying-down of the conditions of employment of the members of staff of the ECB; and
• the necessary preparations for irrevocably fixing the exchange rates of the currencies of the "EU Member States with a derogation" against the euro.

In accordance with the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, the General Council will be dissolved once all EU Member States have introduced the single currency.

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Members

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• 
  Mario Draghi Curriculum vitae
  President of the ECB
  

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• 
  Vítor Constâncio Curriculum vitae
  Vice-President of the ECB
  

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• 
  Luc Coene
  Governor, Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique
  

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• 
  Ivan Iskrov
  Governor, Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank)
  

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• 
  Miroslav Singer
  Governor, Česká národní banka
  

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• 
  Lars Rohde
  Governor, Danmarks Nationalbank
  

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• 
  Jens Weidmann
  President, Deutsche Bundesbank
  

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• 
  Ardo Hansson
  Governor, Eesti Pank
  

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• 
  Patrick Honohan
  Governor, Central Bank of Ireland
  

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• 
  George A. Provopoulos
  Governor, Bank of Greece
  

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• 
  Luis María Linde
  Governor, Banco de España
  

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• 
  Christian Noyer
  Governor, Banque de France
  

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• 
  Ignazio Visco
  Governor, Banca d'Italia
  

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• 
  Panicos Demetriades
  Governor, Central Bank of Cyprus
  

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• 
  Ilmārs Rimšēvičs
  Governor, Latvijas Banka
  

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• 
  Vitas Vasiliauskas
  Chairman of the Board, Lietuvos bankas
  

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• 
  Gaston Reinesch
  Governor, Banque centrale du Luxembourg
  

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• 
  György Matolcsy
  Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank
  

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• 
  Josef Bonnici
  Governor, Central Bank of Malta
  

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• 
  Klaas Knot
  President, De Nederlandsche Bank
  

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• 
  Ewald Nowotny
  Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank
  

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• 
  Marek Belka
  President, Narodowy Bank Polski
  

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• 
  Carlos Costa
  Governor, Banco de Portugal
  

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• 
  Mugur Constantin Isărescu
  Governor, Banca Naţională a României
  

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• 
  Marko Kranjec
  Governor, Banka Slovenije
  

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• 
  Jozef Makúch
  Governor, Národná banka Slovenska
  

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• 
  Erkki Liikanen
  Governor, Suomen Pankki - Finlands Bank
  

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• 
  Stefan Ingves
  Governor, Sveriges Riksbank
  

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• 
  Mervyn King
  Governor, Bank of England
  

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•  

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