The ECB has often been discussed in relation to the central bank of New Zealand. According to Mayes it is, however, impossible for the ECB to reach a population more than 100 times that of New Zealand, a fact that in practise sets the banks in very different positions. The problem with respect to the ECB becomes more serious in connection with the whole of the EU’s democratic deficit. This makes the ECB rather to follow the rules it has been placed under than to see its competence in the future restricted.
