Since the launch of the common currency more than ten years ago, the contribution of the ECB has been positive for the social and economic development of the euro area: low inflation, convergence of prices, strengthening of the currency, and integration of most financial markets, among other advantages. Nevertheless, this institution has received criticism and some of its decisions can be considered as errors; in this paper a distinction will be made between some mistakes in its policies (for instance, the excessive argumentation against indexation in wage-formation while greedy price-setting by some corporations and wealthy individuals has been consistently missed) and some criticism that has arisen from its objectives or its supposedly too late reaction to the present crisis.

Tras diez años de política monetaria común, la contribución del BCE al desarrollo socioeconómico de la zona euro ha sido netamente positiva, con baja inflación, convergencia de precios, fortalecimiento de la moneda e integración de los mercados financieros, entre otros aspectos beneficiosos. Sin embargo, su actuación no ha estado exenta de errores y críticas; a este respecto, en este artículo se diferencia entre fallos en su política como la excesiva fijación en la no indexación de los salarios, y las críticas que recibe por sus objetivos, o por su reacción frente a la crisis.