13 [17]  “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” I think this is also an apt quotation for inflation targeting, so far at least. References Aftonbladet (2013), “Nya direktörer men samma gamla riksbank” [New directors but same old Riksbank], post on Ledarbloggen by Ingvar Persson. Boije, Robert (2019), “Riksbankens otydliga kommunikation riskerar att skada förtroendet” [The Riksbank’s unclear communication risks damaging confidence], debate article in Realtid, 11 November, https://www.realtid.se/debatt/riksbankens-otydliga-kommunikation-riskerar-att-skada-fortroendet Calmfors, Lars (2018) “Industrins lönenormering kan och bör reformeras” [Wage standardization in industry can and should be reformed], in Lönebildning för jämlikhet [Wage formation for equality], the 6F trade union partnership, 2018. Calmfors, Lars, Simon Ek, Ann-Sofie Kolm and Per Skedinger (2019), Kollektivavtal och lönebildning i en ny tid [Collective agreements and wage formation in a new age], Dialogos, Stockholm. Carlsson, Mikael, Iida Häkkinen Skans and Oskar Nordström Skans (2019), “Wage Flexibility in a Unionized Economy with Stable Wage Dispersion”, IZA Discussion Paper No. 12093, Institute of Labor Economics. Dagens Nyheter (2014), “Ta tillbaka makten över Riksbanken” [Take back control over the Riksbank], editorial by Peter Wolodarski, 15 June. Dennis, Bengt (2003), “Första året med flytande krona” [First year with a floating krona], in Jonung, Lars (red. ), På jakt efter ett nytt ankare [Looking for a new anchor], SNS Förlag. Ministry of Finance (2016), “Översyn av det penningpolitiska ramverket och riksbankslagen” [Review of the monetary policy framework and Sveriges Riksbank Act], Committee ToR 2016:114.

And, in some forms, they pose a danger to the environment and to other societal objectives. Stablecoins, meanwhile, are vulnerable to runs, as we have recently seen with algorithmic stablecoins. In this context, it is vital that any remaining regulatory gaps in the crypto-asset ecosystem are closed. I count on the work of this Parliament to ensure that an ambitious regulatory framework emerges from the current negotiations on the EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)[11] and on the current legislative proposals on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, especially in relation to information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (FCTR). [12] To avoid this confusion about what digital money is and what it is not, we need the central bank to provide one of its own, responding to the demand for digitalisation and providing an anchor of stability in the world of digital finance. Protecting the stability of the financial system For the digital euro to play this role, we need to carefully evaluate its potential impact on monetary policy, financial stability and the provision of services by financial intermediaries. [13] A digital euro would of course be issued by the central bank. And unlike potentially dominant private actors in tomorrow’s digital payments market – such as big techs – the central bank would pay close attention to financial stability considerations and to preserving a diverse and vibrant ecosystem. This does not imply that the status quo must be maintained.