Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell: Start of the ECB/ESCB needs analysis
programme in Belgrade
Introductory statement by Ms Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board
and of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, at the Press conference on the
occasion of the signing of the protocol between the European Central Bank, the National
Bank of Serbia, the European Agency for Reconstruction and the Delegation of the European
Commission to the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, 1 September 2008.
* * *
Mr Radovan Jelašić, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia,
Mr Ambassador Lloveras, Head of Delegation of the Delegation of the European
Commission to the Republic of Serbia,
Mr Daniel Giuglaris, Head of the Belgrade Operational Centre of the European Agency for
Reconstruction,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to be here in Belgrade today to mark the start of a programme that - I
hope - will further the European integration project in the area of central banking.
I would like to express my gratitude to the European Agency for Reconstruction and to the
Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Serbia for supporting this
programme, in which the European Central Bank (ECB) and 17 central banks of EU Member
States will be working closely with our colleagues at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).
Speaking also on behalf of our central bank partners, I would like to say that we are very
much looking forward to these coming nine months. Later during this press conference I will
confirm the commitment of the ECB and our partner national central banks to implementing
the programme by signing a protocol which confirms the common goals of all stakeholders in
the programme.
The ECB and our partners in the European System of Central Banks have an interest in
developments in Serbia and in the Western Balkans in general; these countries form what we
call our neighbouring region. We share a common destiny with all of you, and we are being
confronted with common challenges, for instance in the pursuit of monetary and financial
stability.
In order to achieve our common mandates of low inflation and stable financial sectors we
need to make sure that some prerequisites are met, most importantly in terms of the
complete independence of the central bank from political instructions, in order to permit a
firm stability-oriented course of monetary policy.
We also know that stability-oriented monetary policies need to be accompanied by coherent
policy-making in other economic areas, above all in fiscal policy. This is universally true, in
Belgrade and in any of our capitals in the European Union.
There are many reasons for our interest in engaging in this programme with the NBS. Let me
highlight some of them.
Serbia is a country - and more generally the Western Balkans is a region - whose financial
sector is deeply intertwined with that of Europe and more specifically of the euro area: we
therefore share the same concerns for the stability of our banks.
Moreover, for a number of reasons - ranging from the desire of citizens to protect their
savings from hyperinflation and financial fragility to intense flows of tourists and migrants -
the European national currencies in the past and the euro today have played a special role in
this region, including in Serbia.
This country - and once again, this region - must be commended for its remarkable progress
in economic terms over the past years. Growth has been sustained, confidence in the
currencies has strengthened, the financial sector has deepened and new investment has
been attracted. Private economic agents have started the long march towards catching up
with their competitors in the single market.
At the same time, it is of the utmost importance - and I am sure Governor Jelašić will agree -
to continue monitoring closely the remaining challenges, especially at a time when financial
and economic conditions worldwide have become less supportive. The fight for economic
stability is never won once and for all.
Serbia's status as a potential EU candidate country implies that, once the conditions are met,
the NBS will join the European System of Central Banks and, upon sustainable compliance
with conditions of economic convergence, also the Eurosystem.
We expect the programme that is being launched today to enable us to make advances in
our mutual understanding of your situation and to design together the path for your
adaptation to EU standards.
To this aim, over a period of nine months we will carry out a needs analysis of the current
regulatory and operational framework of the NBS, as well as of its policies and practices. All
of these elements will be measured against a benchmark represented by the standard
institutional and operational pattern of an EU central bank's operating policies and practices.
In practice, experts from the ECB and the other 17 EU national central banks will undertake
missions here, hold discussions with their colleagues, try to identify the specificities of your
central bank, and build an understanding with you of where and how you would like to
achieve progress. Our experts will come as colleagues, not to judge but to support you.
During these nine months, the analysis will cover six areas: 1) supervision of banks; 2)
harmonisation of legislation in line with the acquis communautaire under the competence of
the NBS; 3) liberalisation of capital movements; 4) conduct of monetary policy and foreign
exchange rate regime; 5) monetary, financial and balance of payments statistics; and 6)
financial services consumer protection.
There will be a need to coordinate these efforts, and to produce a coherent picture of the
different recommendations. This will be the main task of Mr Thijs Kettenis, policy advisor at
De Nederlandsche Bank, who will be our Resident Programme Coordinator here in Belgrade.
He is here today, and I would like to wish him full success in this undertaking.
The analysis will be carried out by the ECB together with colleagues from the national central
banks of Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece,
France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania and the
United Kingdom.
It is a long list of countries, but I felt it was absolutely necessary to mention all of them. I
would like to warmly greet the representatives from several of these participating central
banks, who have accompanied me here today.
Of course, the work which confronts all of us in the coming years goes beyond setting
benchmarks and recommending solutions in these six areas. We are today marking the start
of a strong strategic partnership between our central banks, through which we intend to
support and add to the achievements already attained by the NBS up until now.
We will be building this strategic partnership on strong foundations. Many of our central
banks have already established an intensive dialogue with the monetary authorities of Serbia
- and in some cases this began several years ago.
If I may for one moment refer to my personal experience at the Oesterreichische
Nationalbank - before I took up the position in the ECB Executive Board in 2003 - I would
like to recall how intense the cooperation was with the monetary authorities of all our
neighbours. The same is true for many of the other central banks involved in this programme.
I am sure that we will find you highly motivated partners. On our side, you will find both
commitment and enthusiasm.
I would like to wish all involved parties the very best of luck.