She then added: “I strongly encourage you to buy the book.” The autobiography’s English version is expected to hit the shelves on Feb. 4. A spokesperson for the ECB said Lagarde has done nothing wrong.
The podium plug has fueled speculation that Lagarde may leave the ECB by the time the book is published, well before the end of her official term in October next year. Lagarde has declined to commit to staying for the full term, triggering an early race for the EU’s most powerful economic job.
The letter is the latest in a string of clashes between the central bank’s leadership and staff representatives, who are suing ECB management for allegedly violating freedom of speech within the central bank.
The book plug might’ve been in jest. But staffers want to know whether writing and publishing the book falls within her “occupation” under Article 11.1 of the ECB’s statutes. If not, the union has asked whether the central bank’s Governing Council received and granted an exemption. The letter also asked whether the manuscript was vetted for confidential or policy-sensitive material, and whether promoting the book at an official event was consistent with the ECB’s code of conduct.
“President Lagarde informed the ECB’s Ethics Committee and the Compliance and Governance Officer about the book project and has received approval,” the spokesperson for the central bank said.
The staff committee reminded the ECB’s compliance chief that staff rules require employees to seek prior authorization before publishing material outside their work at the central bank. The rules also restrict employees from using ECB resources, or their position, for private activities.