Christine Lagarde's arrival would be ideal time for ECB review | Stefan Gerlach

The European Central Bank last looked at its monetary policy framework 16 years ago

Finland's central bank governor, Olli Rehn, has reiterated his call for the European Central Bank to conduct a long-overdue review of its policy framework. The upcoming change of leadership at the institution - with Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund's managing director since 2011, likely to succeed Mario Draghi as president - offers an important opportunity to heed that call.

When the ECB was established 20 years ago, central banks were generally not too clear about the details of their policy frameworks. At that time, some ambiguity may have been helpful, because of the flexibility it offered when the ECB started operating. Furthermore, it allowed central bankers with different experiences and perspectives to agree on a framework, even though they may not have agreed on its precise details.

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