Has the European Central Bank become too powerful?

“Nothing is possible

without people. Nothing is lasting without institutions,” noted Jean Monnet, one of the European Union’s founding fathers. The growth of the European Central Bank (

ecb

) from humble beginnings, as the guardian of a nascent currency, to one of the great powers in European politics might have surprised even the master technocrat himself. Having recently turned 25, the institution is so mighty that it now faces a tough question. Does it know when to stop?