A group of lawmakers proposed the draft law giving the Assembly more oversight of the central bank following allegations in the media that the central bank misused its authority when designing a bank rescue scheme in 2013. The central bank has rejected the allegations, which arose after it advised the government to wipe out subordinated bonds and shareholders' capital in the rescued banks.

The draft law proposed changes to the central bank's legal framework that include allowing additional National Assembly members - beyond the finance minister and a representative of the finance committee - to attend central bank board meetings.

In a legal opinion dated March 2 and signed by its president, Mario Draghi, the ECB said provisions in the draft for the National Assembly "raise concerns as regards the personal independence of the members of the board" because they allow for a decision on whether a board member has an 'incompatibility of functions', a dismissable offence. The ECB also took aim at a provision to allow a board member to be fired for serious misconduct, which the National Assembly could determine, arguing that "the national legislator should not specify what amounts to serious misconduct".

The ECB issued its opinion, published on Tuesday, at the request of the president of Slovenia's National Assembly. It had also raised concerns last year about draft legislation that Slovenian lawmakers prepared to change the central bank's legal set-up.

Reuters