Romfilatelia introduces into circulation the postage stamps issue untitled "The 10th Anniversary of the European Central Bank". The philatelic issue is occasioned by the anniversary of one decade from the establishment of the European Central Bank, on the 1st of June, 2008.
The European Central Bank (ECB) headquartered in Frankfurt - Germany, along with the national central banks (NCB) of the countries sharing the euro, is responsible for the monetary policy of the euro area. The primary objective of the ECB is to maintain price stability in this region. Starting with 1 January 2008, the euro area encompasses 15 out of the 27 EU Member States.
The establishment of the euro area and of a new supranational institution, i.e. the ECB, is the cornerstone for the long and intricate process of European integration. In order to join the euro area, the 15 countries had to fulfill nominal, legal and real convergence requirements and so should other Member States prior to adopting the euro. The fulfillment of nominal convergence criteria - price stability, sound public finances, stability of the exchange rate and long-term interest rates -, combined with the real convergence, should ensure the necessary economic conditions for a successful participation in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Legal convergence requirements vouchsafe the legal framework whereby the central bank, along with the other authorities of a particular Member State, puts in place the legal prerequisites and warrants, in both legal and procedural terms, the successful implementation of single policies within the EMU.
Following the signing of the Accession Treaty on 25 April 2005, Romania and implicitly Banca Națională a României (BNR) were invited to join, with an observer status by the accession date, all structures and substructures of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), as well as other structures of the European Commission and the EU Council that are linked to the central bank’s scope of activity.
Starting with 1 January 2007, once Romania became an EU Member State, the BNR assumed new tasks for a most efficient participation of its representatives in all structures and substructures of the ESCB, which includes the ECB and the 27 central banks of the EU Member States. The BNR Governor takes part together with the other 26 NCB governors on a quarterly basis, in his capacity as a full member, in the meetings of the ESCB General Council. Moreover, the BNR representatives participate regularly in the ESCB committees and the meetings of working groups.
