Rotation system, rotation scheme, rotation procedure

Social psychology teaches and experience shows that – a group of a certain size – changes in its relationships in a variety of ways, – which, in the case of decision-making groups, is simultaneously accompanied by a considerable loss of capacity to act; – In the specialist literature, the number fifteen is often cited as the limit. – In December 2008, the Governing Council therefore decided to set the limit at eighteen. According to this decision, the ECB’s monetary policy decision-making body only has to switch to another voting procedure if the common currency area comprises more than eighteen countries. – The following procedure was chosen: the voting rights among the central bank governors rotate (alternate) after one month. The number of rotating governors is the difference between the number of governors and the number of voting rights allocated to each group minus two, with the absolute value applying in the case of a negative number. – This rotation model is intended to make it possible to combine short periods without voting rights for individual governors with a comparatively consistent composition of the voting college. – Criticism of this ECB decision was directed less at the procedure than at the number of eighteen, which is considered to be far too high. This is because, in addition to the eighteen central bank governors, the six members of the ECB’s Executive Board also belong to the Governing Council, making a total of twenty-four people. In the U.S. Federal Reserve System, twelve, and at the Bank of England nine, are voting members. – Critics of the ECB see a danger that, in view of the complexity of the body, meetings outside the Governing Council will be held in smaller circles (circlet) and preliminary arrangements will be made. – When Slovakia became a member of the EMU at the beginning of 2009, the rotation plan should have been implemented. However, this did not happen. The Governing Council of the ECB used a clause under which the system changeover could be postponed until nineteen countries were participating in the monetary union. Behind this was strong political pressure: none of the smaller countries wanted to be excluded, even if only temporarily. With Latvia’s accession at the beginning of 2014, the rotation procedure was introduced. Critics of the rotation principle stressed that it further strengthened the role of the president and the board of directors. Gone, they said, were the days of sustained factual discussion of monetary policy challenges, a strong team spirit in the Governing Council, and decisions with unanimity or at least broad consensus on fundamental issues, as had been achieved until early 2010. – See Becket Effect, ECB Minutes, publication, South Front. – Cf. Annual Report 2008 of the Deutsche Bundesbank, p. 84 (regulation adopted in the Governing Council), ECB Monthly Bulletin of July 2009, p. 101 et seq. (explaining the rotation procedure; overviews).

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University Professor Dr. Gerhard Merk, Dipl.rer.pol., Dipl.rer.oec.
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