The Euro and the European Central Bank (ECB) Monetary Policy

On behalf of the Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, The Institute of International Relations was fortunate to host a lecture by Professor Miriam L. Campanella of the Department of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Turin in Italy, on April 18 2001.

Professor Campanella, has researched and lectured widely on areas such as the International Political Economy, Theories of European Integration and Political Economy of European Monetary Integration.

Her current research projects include Euro Monetary Policy and the ECB, European Fiscal Discipline and the Strategic Interaction Game and the cross-merging policy of the European banking system from national champion to European integration. Professor Campanella is also interested in Caribbean Integration vis-à-vis the European Community.

Professor Campanella gave an extensive presentation on the Euro and the ECB Monetary Policy, in which she provided a clear idea of the history and structure of the ECB, its policies, the environment in which it operates and the problems encounter since its inception. Using the analogy of the USA Federal Reserve Bank, she explained how the ECB operates as a supranational institution with the goal of ensuring credibility in its product, the Euro, and maintaining non-inflationary growth.