The meeting at the ECB's headquarters will be followed by a news conference at 1730 GMT at which president Wim Duisenberg is expected to provide clues about European interest rates ahead of a decisive final meeting of the year on December 22.

Central bankers attending the meeting declined to comment on their work as they arrived at the Euro Tower ECB headquarters.

As has been its usual practice, the ECB's general council, which meets only quarterly, joined the governing council which meets monthly.

The general council includes representatives from European Union nations not participating in monetary union including Britain, Sweden, Greece and Denmark.

Economists are looking to the news conference for word about how the ECB will define money supply and what reference point it will use to steerpolicy.

Economists said on Monday that given broad-brush statements offered by ECB board members, they expected the central bank to adopt a more liberal definition of what constitutes money than, for example, the Bundesbank has used.

As defined by the German central bank, the so-called M3 aggregate comprises cash in circulation, sight deposits, time deposits up to four years and savings deposits with three months notice.

The ECB will use that definition as its base, but is also likely to include more liquid money such as money market funds.

Economists also expect the ECB to announce what it calls a money supply growth "reference point" of 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

In addition to the monetary aggregate announcement, markets will also be closely watching how Duisenberg describes current economic conditions for any indication about where short-term European interest rates will be set.

Duisenberg, and others at the ECB, have recently sounded willing to consider adopting a securities repurchase ratebelow the 3.30 per cent level that now stands in Germany and France.

The ECB is expected to announce the repo level, which will prevail when monetary union starts on January 1, at its final December 22 meeting.