Vol.7, No 1, 2009 pp. 1-10
UDC 336.711 (4-672EU:497:11)
THE EUROPEAN STANDARDS ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE CENTRAL BANK AND THE POSITION OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF SERBIA
Srđan Golubović
Faculty of Law, University of Niš, Serbia
E-mail: golub@prafak.ni.ac.rs
The basic EU law principle which the European Monetary Union rests upon is the independence of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the Member States. In line with this principle, the European Central Bank and other subjects of the single European Monetary System enjoy full independence in running the monetary policy. Moreover, the European standards on the status of the central bank are the legal acquisition (acquis communautaire) which must be incorporated into the legislation of each candidate country pursuing a full EU membership. Upon considering the arguments in favor of the central bank independence, the author analyzes the compatibility of the national legislation with the relevant EU legislation on the status of the central bank. Further on, the author identifies the legal solutions that depart from the EU standards and could possibly jeopardize the independence of this monetary institution. In the final part of the paper, the author emphasizes the need to define the boundaries of the central bank independence and strengthen the instruments for establishing the central bank accountability, including both the national parliament and the general public. This would help eliminate the recurrent complaints and objections on the insufficient democratic legitimacy of this supreme monetary authority.
Key words: The European Central Bank, independence, The National Bank of Serbia, monetary policy
EVROPSKI STANDARDI O NEZAVISNOSTI CENTRALNE BANKE I POLOŽAJ NARODNE BANKE SRBIJE
Temeljni prinicip, postavljen pravom Evropske unije, na kome se zasniva monetarna unija je nezavisnost Evropske centralne banke i centralnih banaka država članica. Prema ovom principu, Evropska centralna banka i ostali subjekti jedinstvenog monetarnog sistema uživaju punu samostalnost u vođenju monetarne politike. Štaviše, evropski standardi o položaju centralne banke predstavljaju pravnu tekovinu koju sve zemlje kandidati za sticanje punopravnog članstva moraju da ugrade u svoje zakonodavstvo. Nakon sagledavanja argumenata u korist nezavisnosti, u radu se analizira usaglašenost domaćeg zakonodavstva sa pravom EU u pogledu statusa centralne banke i ukazuje na rešenja koja odstupaju od standarda EU i koja mogu da dovedu u pitanje nezavisnost monetarne institucije. Na kraju rada, posebno se ukazuje na potrebu definisanja granica nezavisnosti centralne banke i jačanja instrumenata za utvrđivanje njene odgovornosti od strane parlamenta i javnosti, čime bi se otklonili česti prigovori o manjku demokratske legitimnosti vrhovne monetarne vlasti.
Ključne reči: Evropska centralna banka, nezavisnost, Narodna banka Srbije, monetarna politika.