How and for whose benefit the European Central Bank (ECB) will work is one of the most important issues facing Europe, and has been the subject of vast media and academic interest. Much of this discussion has been of an increasingly emotional and political nature and has served to blur rather than inform. Written by a team at the ECB, including Otmar Issing, its Chief Economist, this study provides the first comprehensive, inside, non-technical analysis of the monetary policy strategy, institutional features and operational procedures of the Eurosystem.