European Union balance of payments and international investment position statistical sources and methods : "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book"; July 2025

The European Central Bank (ECB), with the support of the European System of Central Bank's (ESCB's) Statistics Committee, compiles and publishes the balance of payments (b.o.p.) and the international investment position (i.i.p.) of the euro area. These statistics depict the economic relations of the euro area as a whole vis-à-vis the rest of the world and provide important indicators of economic performance. The euro area is therefore considered as a single economic area. The ESCB analyses the euro area b.o.p. and i.i.p. in the context of its tasks, particularly monetary policy, macroprudential analysis and reserve assets management. The individual European Union (EU) Member States' b.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics also provide crucial indicators of economic performance. These are closely monitored by, for example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Article IV reports, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) in the Risk Dashboard and in the context of the European Commission's macroeconomic imbalances procedure (MIP).