January-February 2026
External communication
Statement in support of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
On 13 January 2026 the ECB published a statement signed by central bankers around the world, including ECB President Christine Lagarde on behalf of the Governing Council, expressing their full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell and stressing the importance of central bank independence as a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability.
Climate and nature plan after 2025
On 16 January 2026 the ECB published a press release explaining that it had further embedded climate and nature-related risks into its core work, by concluding its climate and nature plan 2024-2025. The ECB reiterated its firm commitment to ensuring resilience by integrating climate and nature into its work, and explained it would continue intensifying work in three priority areas: transition to a green economy; coping with the growing physical impacts of climate change on the economy and the financial system; and the impact of nature-related risks and ecosystem degradation.
Collaboration between the ECB and the ONCE Foundation to ensure universal access to the digital euro
On 18 February 2026 the ECB published a press release announcing a collaboration agreement with the ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities on the digital euro app, to ensure it is easily accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities or limited digital skills and older adults. More detailed information on the digital euro project is available in a dedicated section of the ECB's website.
Market operations
Remuneration of excess reserves held in current accounts of eligible monetary policy counterparties
In December 2025 the Governing Council decided to simplify the remuneration of excess reserves under Article 1(1) of Decision (EU) 2019/1743 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2019/31) and mandated the relevant Eurosystem/European System of Central Banks committees to prepare the implementation of this decision by the end of the first half of 2026. Accordingly, excess reserves held by institutions that are eligible as counterparties in Eurosystem monetary operations in accordance with Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60) will be remunerated at the deposit facility rate at all times, i.e. not only when this rate is negative. The application date for the simplified remuneration of excess reserves will be confirmed in conjunction with the publication of the amended legal acts implementing the decision.
Amendments to legal acts on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework
On 22 January 2026 the Governing Council adopted amendments to the legal acts that implement the Eurosystem monetary policy framework. The amending legal acts are Guideline ECB/2026/1 amending Guideline (EU) 2015/510 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework; Guideline ECB/2026/2 amending Guideline (EU) 2016/65 on the valuation haircuts applied in the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework; Guideline ECB/2026/3 amending Guideline ECB/2014/31 on additional temporary measures relating to Eurosystem refinancing operations and eligibility of collateral; and Guideline ECB/2026/4 amending Guideline (EU) 2024/3129 on the management of collateral in Eurosystem credit operations.
The amendments introduced will apply from 30 March 2026 and include the changes detailed in a related press release available on the ECB's website. A second press release announces the acceptance of marketable assets issued in central securities depositories using distributed ledger technology (DLT) as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations from 30 March 2026, and outlines further explorative work to expand eligibility to assets issued and settled entirely on DLT networks. This was also approved by the Governing Council in the context of the annual update of the legal acts that implement the Eurosystem monetary policy framework.
Annual review of the list of acceptable non-regulated markets and the list of recognised agencies accepted in the Eurosystem's collateral framework
On 22 January 2026 the Governing Council decided, following an annual review, to make no changes to the list of non-regulated markets accepted by the ECB. It also decided to add one issuer, Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd (Finnfund), to the list of issuers recognised by the ECB as agencies eligible for participation in the Eurosystem's collateral framework. The current lists are available on the ECB's website.
Enhanced ECB repo facility for central banks
On 14 February 2026 the ECB announced that the Governing Council had decided to enhance the Eurosystem repo facility for central banks (EUREP) to introduce standing access, enlarge the geographical reach and make the facility more flexible and effective in supporting the smooth transmission of monetary policy in the euro area in the event of euro liquidity shortages abroad. Under EUREP, the Eurosystem provides backstop euro liquidity to non-euro area central banks against high-quality euro-denominated collateral, with appropriate risk mitigants. EUREP complements the ECB's swap lines, which remain unchanged. A related press release and an FAQ
