Reaffirming that the independence of the European Central Bank and its democratic accountability were two sides of the same coin, Mrs Randzio-Plath pointed out that Parliament had argued right from the start for this independence. However, as the Maastricht Treaty and statute of the Bank gave this institution not only rights but duties, she cited, in this last respect, its obligation to report to Parliament. Transparency, she added, insofar as this could allow the ECB to gain credibility and trust among public opinion, was in the Bank’s own interests. In addition, the rapporteur stressed the need for regular monetary dialogue between Parliament and the Bank which, according to the applicable law, could occur at any time at the request of the President of the ECB or Parliament. In addition to this dialogue, it would be sufficient and desirable to formally hold quarterly meetings with the parliamentary committee responsible. As for the members of the Bank’s Executive Board (on the subject of which Parliament did not demand the publication of details about their opinions during voting), Mrs Randzio-Plath confirmed that persons of high personal integrity with the professional expertise to have a clear vision in terms of economic and monetary policy needed to be appointed as members of the first Board at the head of this European institution. The Members who spoke on behalf of their respective political groups all called for the ECB to work transparently and ensure that it accordingly gained the trust of the people. Noting that the debate had been marked by the split between two cultures (one more Nordic and the other French), Commissioner de Silguy stressed that the ECB would play a vital role as the authority responsible for the EU’s monetary policy and that, as a result, its independence could not be called into question. He then rejected any amendment of the Treaty as this would be equivalent to opening Pandora’s box. Mr de Silguy argued instead that the charm of the contents of this box should be exhausted first. Having pointed out again that price stability was one of the ECB’s priority objectives and that, in this respect, the Bank’s independence was an essential condition, the Commissioner tackled the issue of relations between the ECB and the Community institutions: as the Treaty provided for Parliament’s consultation on the nomination of the President and other members of the Board and as an annual report from the ECB would be submitted to Parliament, Mr de Silguy felt that there was no reason to doubt that independence and dialogue could not and should not go hand in hand. He also suggested that the ECB President should be invited to the European Council every year in June, when the broad outlines of economic policy were adopted, to present his monetary policy. This could at the same time lead to possible debates on this subject within Parliament so that the representatives of public opinion were involved within this dialogue at the highest level. Finally, the Commission was prepared to consider concluding an interinstitutional agreement on the coordination of economic policies but Mr de Silguy said that a third partner would be required to conclude such an agreement, i.e. Council’s agreement would need to be obtained.