How to Unite 340 Million People: The ECB Turns 20
Highlights from the first two decades of a monetary union.
The European Central Bank celebrates its 20th birthday on Friday. Created as part of a post-Cold War drive for regional political integration, the Frankfurt-based institution has grown to become the linchpin of a currency union of 19 countries and 340 million people.
Inspired by the inflation-busting ethos of Germany’s Bundesbank, the ECB has reinvented itself to confront crises threatening the integrity of the euro zone, and economic malaise creating the danger of deflation.