An investigation into Ireland's bailout has found that the ECB failed to share internal analysis regarding the burning of senior bondholders which "should" have been given to the European Commission and IMF.
The report from the European Court of Auditors found that there should have been more "formal" sharing of information between the ECB and other institutions involved in the bailout.
Bailout programmes in Ireland, Portugal, Hungary, Latvia and Romania were all examined - the report covers how these countries received financial aid but does not deal with reviewing the political motivations behind these decisions, or whether bailouts were needed.
It found that the "internal deliberations on burden-sharing by senior debt holders in the restructuring of the Irish banks," were not shared by the ECB.
The reports adds that there were alternatives to protecting bond holders, but these options were not pursued.
Independence
The European Commission says that the ECB had declined to provide these details to the Commission because of its position as an independent institution.
The Commission was not is a position to demand this information.
The Court of Auditors found that the ECB was ill-prepared to deal with the crisis when it struck in 2008. It says that there were "weaknesses in processes," although the report acknowledges that these bodies were put in a difficult position as the unprecedented crisis spread across the euro zone.
A second report dealing specifically with Greece will be released next month.