In this sense, I am convinced that in order to deliver a successful roadmap for the potential issuance of a digital euro, we must establish a certain set of priorities upfront. Allow me to be a bit more precise in this respect. To start with, I believe we should deepen the current standing of our work. This means not just promoting a wide-ranging exchange of views within the Eurosystem and with other European authorities and institutions, but also engaging other relevant stakeholders in our discussions, including the private sector and academia. In my view, it is this active dialogue that will help us understand the full range of implications of a CBDC and the minimum requirements that a euro-denominated CBDC should meet. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, I believe we need to place a strong emphasis on developing a rigorous experimentation agenda that will help us make informed policy decisions about the different design options. This entails identifying the key questions that remain open and need to be further analysed by means of hands-on experience, and formulating the corresponding concrete testing proposals. And we must bear in mind that private agents could be instrumental for the ultimate success of this exercise, so it is important that we make sure to count them in early on. Lastly, international cooperation with other central banks needs to remain high on the agenda, to identify best practice, avoid unnecessary fragmentation and help achieve  2  According to Boar et al.

As I said, the crisis has led to an overhaul of financial regulation, centred on three main areas: the strengthening of microprudential regulation; the development of macroprudential regulation; and the stepping-up of international coordination. These new regulations provide a scenario of greater security for the financial sector. If we have learned anything in recent years it is that there is always a risk of another crisis. But I believe we are now better prepared. The new regulations impose greater capital 5/7  requirements on financial institutions and stricter supervision, including new instruments for the early identification of financial risks. The main challenge for regulatory policy is now to fully implement the reforms approved and to closely monitor their impact on the financial sector, and, where appropriate, to calibrate the new regulatory framework. Along with this general challenge, I would highlight two elements that will have a bearing on regulatory policy management. Firstly, the interrelatedness of monetary and macroprudential policy. Generally, both policies can be complementary. But, as the years of expansion prior to the financial crisis demonstrated, the economy’s cyclical position and the accumulation of financial risks may become decoupled. Financial imbalances thus built up, and yet inflation was contained and the real economy appeared to show no signs of overheating. Central banks will have to have both policies strike a balance in order to achieve the dual objective of economic and financial stability. Here it is important to have an institutional structure that ensures synergies and consistency between monetary and prudential policies.