The European Central Bank (ECB) has various channels for announcing its monetary policy decisions and any other information of interest to the public.
The ECB issues press releases to announce its monetary policy decisions and to publish new data, statistics and other relevant information.
After the ECB Governing Council’s monetary policy meetings, a press conference is held where the monetary policy decisions are presented, and the President of the ECB explains the measures adopted and takes questions from journalists. A monetary policy statement from the Governing Council is published before the conference. The transcript of the press conferences, together with the questions and answers, is later made available for consultation on the ECB's website
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Four weeks after each monetary policy meeting, the monetary policy accounts, which contain a summary of the discussions during the meeting, are released.
The ECB also participates in other public engagements and prepares reports available to the general public:
The ECB wants its decisions to be understood not only by markets and economic experts, but also by the wider public, as good communication can help people to better understand monetary policy and improve their trust in the institution. To this end, the ECB publishes different versions of its monetary policy decision documents, including visuals, to ensure that the message is clear to all audiences. In addition, the ECB wants to make its listening events a regular feature of its communication.
The ECB also updates its social media accounts every day, as a way to promote communication with the public.