§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the United Kingdom will propose to govern the choice of the members of the board of the European Central Bank; and if he will take steps to ensure that the Nolan committee's recommendations relating to public appointment will apply to these appointments. [6807]
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeArticle 11 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks-ESCB—annexed to the EC treaty states that the executive board of the European Central Bank—ECB—shall comprise the president and vice-president of the ECB and four other members. It states that the
President, the Vice-President and the other members of the Executive Board shall be appointed from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters",by common accord of Governments at the level of Heads of State or Government, on a recommendation from the Council after it has consulted the European Parliament and the Governing Council of the ECB. In accordance with article 43.3 of the statute and paragraph 8 of protocol No. 11, member states which do not participate in the single currency are not involved in this procedure and nationals of these countries may not be members of the executive board. Article 50 of the statute provides for some transitional procedural rules to govern the section of the executive board when it is established.The second paragraph of article 11.1 of the statute states that members of the executive board shall
perform their duties on a full-time basis. No member shall engage in any occupation, whether gainful or not, unless exception is exceptionally granted by the Governing Council".Article 7 of the statute provides that no member of the executive board, as a decision-making body of the ECB,shall seek or take instructions from the Community institutions or bodies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body".Article 11.4 of the statute states thatIf a member of the executive board no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his duties or if he has been guilty of serious misconduct, the [European] Court of Justice may, on application by the Governing Council or the Executive Board, compulsorily retire him".If the United Kingdom were to participate in the single currency and were therefore involved in the selection of the executive board, the Government would want to be confident that members of the executive board would be able to meet the obligations imposed on them by the treaty, including the statute of the ESCB. The Nolan report relates to public life in the United Kingdom.