First, let me thank you for this rather special calendar for the year 2000. It is therefore a very suitable gift. It is also, however, if I may say so, a very symbolic gift.
Next year marks the start of a new millennium.
The introduction of the euro also marks the beginning of an important and historic step forward in European integration. The primary objective of the single monetary policy is to maintain price stability. In reaching its decisions on monetary policy, the Governing Council is concerned with economic conditions in the euro area as a whole , rather than specific regional or national developments. I disagree with this view. First, it overlooks the fact that within a single currency area adjustment can occur via prices and wages.