In January-February 2026, the ECB Governing Council made decisions on external communication, climate strategy, digital euro collaboration, market operations, financial stability, market infrastructure, legislation advice, governance, statistics, European cooperation, and banking supervision.
In January and February 2026, the ECB Governing Council took various decisions and published statements across multiple areas.
On 13 January 2026, the ECB issued a statement supporting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, emphasizing central bank independence.
On 16 January 2026, the ECB announced the completion of its climate and nature plan 2024-2025, focusing on green economy transition, climate impact resilience, and ecosystem risks.
On 18 February 2026, the ECB announced a collaboration with the ONCE Foundation to ensure digital euro accessibility for people with disabilities and limited digital skills.
Market operations decisions included the simplification of excess reserves remuneration, effective from the first half of 2026, and amendments to legal acts implementing the Eurosystem monetary policy framework, effective from 30 March 2026. These amendments include accepting assets issued on distributed ledger technology (DLT) as collateral.
The ECB also reviewed the list of acceptable non-regulated markets, adding Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd (Finnfund) as an eligible issuer.
On 14 February 2026, the ECB announced enhancements to the Eurosystem repo facility for central banks (EUREP), including standing access and expanded reach, to support monetary policy transmission and euro liquidity management abroad. The President of the ECB discussed these measures at the Munich Security Conference.
Regarding financial stability, the ECB noted joint reports from the ESRB on geoeconomic fragmentation and bank-non-bank linkages, highlighting systemic risks from geopolitical tensions and sector interconnections.
In market infrastructure, the ECB approved eligible CCPs for the credit facility and amended the Rules of Procedure for the Market Infrastructure Board, including a call for new members from June 2026 to May 2029.
Legislation advice included opinions on increased taxes on credit institutions, supervisory independence of Latvijas Banka and Banque nationale de Belgique, cash payment limitations, reserve ratio of Magyar Nemzeti Bank, and macroprudential measures requested by Swedish authorities.
On governance, the ECB recommended external auditors for Banka Slovenije, amended employment conditions for ECB staff, and approved the ECB’s 2025 financial statements. It also issued an opinion on the appointment of the ECB Vice-President and appointed Christophe Kamps as Acting Secretary for monetary policy from 1 March 2026.
The 2024 statistical confidentiality report was approved for publication on 30 December 2025.
European cooperation priorities discussed included strengthening the EU Single Market, digital euro development, and strategic autonomy. The Governing Council also delegated decision-making powers on mergers and acquisitions of material holdings, and imposed penalties on Crédit Agricole for non-compliance with climate risk assessments.
Further details and the full list of decisions are available in the official ECB press release linked below.
