["Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis paper examines the development and impact of macroprudential policies in the euro area. We construct a novel index that captures the stance of macroprudential policy, and we highlight its main stylized facts since the inception of the euro in 1999. We combine a narrative approach and a structural VAR method to show that both unanticipated or surprise shocks and anticipated or news shocks contribute over the medium and long term to safeguard financial stability. We also find significant linkages between monetary and macroprudential policies that enhance the policy mix."]