Anita Angelovska Bezhoska: Speech - European Statistics Day Speech by Ms Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, at the marking of the European Statistics Day, held at the National Bank, Skopje, 28 October 2019. * * *  Your Excellency Zhbogar, Dear Director General Simovski, Dear Mr. Nymand-Andersen, Esteemed managers of regulatory institutions, Former Minister of Finance, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great pleasure to address you today at the celebration of the European Statistics Day. Reflecting on the concept of today’s event for further affirmation of the importance of statistics, as well as our commitment to compile quality statistics under the latest European and international standards in general, I recall what Herbert George Wells said a century ago, “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” And he was right. Today, when information and knowledge are the main building blocks of society, and when neither full information nor thorough knowledge is possible without quality data, there is no doubt that statistics are and will always be necessary, both for the individual and for the society at large. Therefore, the responsibility we all have as part of the statistical puzzle is great – we create a public good whose benefits are felt by every individual, every institution, policy maker ... all this for the benefit of a healthy and prosperous society. The past decade has witnessed tectonic changes in the global economic and financial landscape.

This also calls for ensuring a consistent regulatory treatment of similar risks, irrespective of the framework or combination of frameworks under which stablecoins schemes might be operated. - Secondly, coordinating the adjustment of regulatory and supervisory frameworks at the international level Whatever the final choice made for the European Union in terms of regulation strategy, such an adjustment of the regulatory framework should be part of broader adjustment at the global level, given the possible development of global stable coins. Indeed, there is a need for overall consistency to prevent regulatory arbitrage under the “same activities, same risks, same rules” principle. This is also necessary to address risks that fall outside existing frameworks, including risks to fair competition and monetary policy transmission. Indeed, in July 2019, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors agreed that possible stablecoins initiatives must meet the highest regulatory standards, be subject to prudent supervision and oversight and that possible regulatory gaps should, as a matter of priority, be assessed and addressed. Accordingly, the Financial Stability Board is working on a global regulatory and supervisory approach towards stablecoins. Developing shared public policy, regulatory and supervisory goals and principles should help capture activities that fall outside traditional regulatory boundaries. It should also help prevent any discrepancies at domestic levels that may give rise to fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage which would be counterproductive for the development of these new instruments themselves.