The European Parliament rejected the report on the 2004 Annual Report of the European Central Bank from the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee which was strongly supportive of the policies and practice of the European Central Bank. The vote on the report by Kurt Lauk was 287 in favour, 296 against and 41 abstentions.
The report praised the ECB's policy of concentrating on its prime objective of maintaining price stability and thereby contributing to achieving sustainable economic growth. Before the final vote, amendments calling for the ECB  to lower interest rates and taking the economic situation more closely into account had been rejected by the plenary. The No votes were largely the result of pressure from the socialist, green, and united left groups in addition to Eurosceptics from the Independence groups and British and Czech conservatives. 
 EP Report
      
      
      
      
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