The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee met with Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank. Discussions touched on ending the extraordinary measures taken to fight the crisis, the creation of a new regulatory body, and the Tobin tax.

Europarl Today: Mapping the way forward after the crisis

The speech by the ECB's President   was much anticipated.

The ECB said that the exceptional   measures adopted to abate the crisis,

For example, the huge injection of money   into the European monetary system.

We have introduced exceptional   measures for exceptional circumstances.

We will have to phase them out once the   rationale for these measures fades away

considers that it would be premature   to declare the crisis over.

In response to one MEP's question,   the ECB President

rejected a tax on   international monetary transactions,

the famous Tobin tax. The supervision   of markets was also addressed.

We need an integrated system   with independent powers,

which has the capacity   for informed risk-taking

on a local, national and European level.

We must be pragmatic. The Commission   is making interesting proposals,

The Parliament will look at it carefully   and make some amendments

to improve the situation even further.   But we're on the right path.

In Trichet's eyes, the ECB has   demonstrated its importance in this crisis.

Without its intervention the EU's banking   system would have gone bankrupt.