Central Bank Independence in Southeastern Europe with a view to EU integration

The paper provides an analysis of central bank legislation in eight Southeastern European (SEE) countries. For this purpose, the paper uses the ECB classification and examines functional, institutional, personal and financial independence. Moreover, the paper sheds some light on the practical implementation of CBI in these countries. The study finds that the degree of CBI corresponds largely to the respective country's level of integration with the European Union. The paper concludes that legal arrangements to protect the status of the central bank are a necessary, though not sufficient, prerequisite for CBI. In fact, the importance of practical implementation cannot be overestimated.