European Central Bank Governing Council Member Villeroy warns that attacking the independence of the Federal Reserve is both illegal and endangers democratic institutions

Mr. Villeroy, the governor of the Bank of France and the governing body of the European Central Bank, has joined global policymakers in warning of the White House's attack on the US Federal Reserve. "We Europeans must defend the independence of central banks against the serious rollbacks of the Trump administration," he said in Vienna. "Independence is not an obstacle to achieving reasonably low interest rates. On the contrary, it is a prerequisite for achieving reasonably low interest rates because it keeps inflation under control over the long term and anchors the expectations of economic actors," Mr. Villeroy said. Mr. Villeroy added that the threat to the Fed had broader implications. "Independence is given by democracy, and attacking that independence is both contrary to US law and dangerous to democracy," he said.