Euro - ECB ECB leaves eurozone interest rate unchanged The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25 per cent, as expected by the markets, amid continued uncertainty about the strength and durability of the eurozone's nascent economic recovery. |  Read Welteke takes tough stance against critics of ECB Ernst Welteke, president of the Bundesbank, has taken a tough line against critics of the European Central Bank. "We cannot satisfy everybody. [Anyone] who wants to be everybody's darling is in the end the most stupid person on earth," he said, speaking to the FT this week. |  Read ECB urged to rethink role of M3 growth The European Central Bank should abandon money supply growth as an instrument for setting interest rates, according to a report co-written by a former candidate for the ECB vice-presidency. |  Read Robust defence of ECB policy The man selected by European Union finance ministers to be the next vice-president of the European Central Bank presented a robust defence of the ECB's monetary policy. Lucas Papademos, the Greek central bank governor, told a confirmation hearing at the European parliament that securing price stability was the best way of ensuring sustainable growth. |  Read Belgians unhappy at bank job Belgium was the only country to withhold its support when European Union finance ministers recommended Lucas Papademos, Greece's central bank governor, as the European Central Bank's next vice-president. |  Read ECB hints at interest rate increase as prices rise The European Central Bank stepped up its public concern about inflation, increasing expectations of interest rate rises later in the year, with its concerns adding weight by the European Commission's latest estimates for economic growth, which were a touch more optimistic for the first half of the year. |  Read ECB urges independence of central banks For central and eastern European countries keen to enter the eurozone, the European Central Bank has a message: be patient, continue to pursue economic reforms and, at all costs, do not undermine the independence of your central banks. |  Read Belgium steps up battle for ECB vice-presidency The contest for the European Central Bank's vice-presidency intensified when Belgium became the first country formally to propose its own candidate for the job. The Belgian initiative created an obstacle for Lucas Papademos, governor of Greece's central bank. He was the undeclared front-runner for the post, to be vacated by Christian Noyer of France on May 31. |  Read France commissions study of ECB Economic advisers to Lionel Jospin, French premier, have commissioned a report on the record and future of the European Central Bank from two of France's leading independent economists, due to be completed by the summer. |  Read Duisenberg to step down as ECB chief in 2003 Wim Duisenberg will retire as president of the European Central Bank on July 9, 2003, the ECB announced, ending months of uncertainty over how long the Bank's first president would stay in office. |  Read ECB wants a role in banking supervision The European Central Bank has put itself on a collision course with European financial regulators, including Britain's Financial Services Authority, over the ECB's ambitions to play a role in banking supervision. |  Read