The head of the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee today criticised the European Central Bank's plan for voting reform, saying it may lead to central bank governors fighting against each other based on nationality.
The ECB has defended its complex reform, which gives bigger states a right to vote more frequently on interest rates than smaller ones. The aim is to prepare the bank for enlargement of the European Union and possible new euro-zone members.
"The emphasis on national representation inside the ECB is dangerous and contradicts monetary policy integration," Ms Christa Randzio-Plath said in a statement.
"It can lead to situations where coalitions of National Central Bank governors fight against each other to the detriment of the euro area as a whole," she added.
"I would be much more in favour of an ambitious and pro-European solution," she said.
Such a solution would involve giving more power and weight to the executive board and reduce the possibility that national central bank chiefs see themselves as representatives of their country, she said.
Her comments came after another member of the chamber, Mr Ingo Friedrich, who must prepare parliament's report on the voting plan, said last week that it was far too complex and that he would suggest alternatives.
Parliament will vote on the plans once the European Commission has looked into them. EU leaders give final approval.
The plan assigns rotating voting rights to three groups of countries. The largest countries, measured by size of gross domestic product and the strength of their financial system, are to vote the most often.
Despite some political grumbling, EU finance ministers are widely expected to back the ECB plan.
Of the 15 EU states, 12 are in the euro zone. A further 10 states, mostly from eastern Europe, will join the EU next year and then move toward adopting the euro in the following years.