European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, notes with disappointment the decision of ECB President Mario Draghi not to suspend his membership of the private, Washington-based ‘Group of 30’ organisation following her recommendation to do so.

“It’s a missed opportunity for increased trust.” Ms. O’Reilly said “I had hoped that at a challenging time for the EU, the ECB might have seized an opportunity to show leadership by not allowing even the slightest perception to emerge that overly close relationships exist between regulators and those they regulate.”

In its response the ECB has again failed to explain why President Draghi’s membership of – as opposed to normal participation in – this group is so important, or what public interest it serves. 

The Ombudsman fully supports participation in appropriate fora in the public interest but ‘membership’ adds an element of privileged inclusivity that is not in k