We know that the health shock has affected European countries to varying degrees, but the economic shock has been more symmetrical, due to the restrictive measures that ended up being substantial in all countries. GDP figures for the second quarter show that the recession is widespread, with double-digit percentage declines: -11.8 % in the euro area, -13.8% in France and -9.7% in Germany. Almost half of the differences between our two countries can be attributed to the construction sector, which has contracted much less in Germany, and more than half to the differences in methodology regarding public services statistics. The European response to the health crisis was initially monetary, thanks to the rapid and decisive action of the Eurosystem. I attended the Governing Council today, and I will not comment immediately on our decisions that Christine Lagarde has just presented. In mid-March, when the economy was threatened by a breakdown in financing, the Governing Council of the ECB put in place an immediate and virtually unlimited liquidity shield. On 12 March, we acted first of all for businesses and SMEs that obtain financing from banks, by allocating them an exceptional refinancing envelope at a very attractive rate: the TLTRO III, which as of their first take up in June represented an amount of nearly EUR 1,350 billion. Then, on 18 March, for large companies and governments that fund themselves through the financial markets, we created the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), initially totalling EUR 750 billion, which was increased to EUR 1,350 billion on 4 June.

In this regard, the IFSB has already made progress in developing the prudential standards on the capital adequacy and risk management framework, and has commenced work on developing standards on corporate governance. Appropriate accounting standards have also been put in place to reflect the true and fair value of banking operations that would lead to greater accountability and responsibility on the part of financial institutions. While the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has made a significant contribution in formulating and issuing accounting and auditing standards for Islamic financial institutions, efforts need to be intensified to promote of the adoption of these standards. The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) further provides the environment that will encourage active participation by both Islamic and non-Islamic financial institutions in the secondary market for Islamic financial instruments. Several global sovereign sukuks have been issued in the international market that has attracted wide interest, both by Muslim and non-Muslim investors. The next phase in this development is the raising of funds from this market by multinational corporations and multilateral institutions. As the volume increases, it would strengthen the inter-linkages and integration amongst the Islamic financial centres. In addition to structuring a variety of attractive off-the-shelf instruments, efforts need to be intensified to create a benchmark curve for future issues. With a well-developed system, the trading of instruments would encourage the free flow of capital movements and would in turn facilitate greater Islamic fund management activities.