the incumbents ), payments innovation is both a first - tier opportunity ( given the potential benefits for them and their customers of additional payments functionality ) and a first - tier threat ( given the risk of disintermediation by new players ). that in my view demands urgent action. for the bank of england ’ s part, we ’ ll support this both as a regulator by setting out clear expectations [ 26 ], and as a provider of the wholesale infrastructure via which interbank payments ultimately settle. on the latter, we are experimenting with six other central banks, the bank for international settlements and the private sector on ‘ project agora ’, which will explore how tokenised commercial bank deposits could be integrated with tokenised wholesale central bank money to enhance payments efficiency and functionality, including cross - border. to pause for a moment on this international dimension before i conclude, central banks all around the world are facing questions similar to those i ’ ve set out today. projects like agora will help us pool our resources in tackling them. but importantly, they will also help ensure we tackle them in a way that is coherent, helps reduce rather than add to frictions in cross - border payments, and importantly ( and definitely a subject for a speech on another day ) helps us understand the implications for the international monetary system should digital money lead to more frictionless cross - border money holdings and payment flows. conclusion new technologies offer the prospect of enhanced retail and wholesale payments functionality in the uk. our immediate focus at the bank of england following facebook ’ s libra announcement in 2019 has rightly been on establishing regulatory regimes for stablecoins to be used safely for retail payments, and on considering whether a retail cbdc might be needed in future. but we are increasingly complementing that work with a focus on how we can best support innovation both in wholesale payments and financial markets ( including through modernisation of the bank of england ’ s wholesale payments infrastructure ) and in banks ’ retail payments offerings. to do that will require input and close collaboration from the private sector, and so we are planning to set out our thinking in these areas in a discussion paper this summer. [ 29 ] we look forward to harnessing the expertise and creativity of the people in this room as we do so. i would like to thank michael yoganayagam for his assistance in drafting these remarks. i would also like to thank martin arrowsmith, andrew bailey, paul bedford, emma butterworth, diana carrasco vime,

owing to their wise management. sound management is always rewarded. it is regrettable that the pension reform in slovenia was not supported. question : slovenia doubled its “ maastricht ” debt in the last three years, from 22 % to 45 % of gdp, while the government deficit stays relatively high at 5. 5 % of gdp for the third year in a row. is the fiscal position of slovenia becoming critical? trichet : again, to slovenia as well as to all countries in the euro area or europe as a whole, the message is : be at least as sound and reasonable as required by the stability and growth pact. be ahead of the curve. it is the best way to be resilient and to create growth and jobs. question : does the debt crisis mean a lot of additional work for you? do you have holidays this summer? trichet : for all members of the ecb ’ s executive board and the governing council, for all the staff of the ecb and the national central banks, the present crisis, which started four years ago in august 2007 and which has been the worst financial crisis since the second world war, means additional work, permanent alertness and extreme attention. this is, of course, what is needed in demanding times. we all work very long hours on normal working days and also many hours on saturdays and sundays. i will have holidays in the summer. but there is, of course, permanent availability to work even on holiday. question : what has been your most difficult moment as president of the ecb? trichet : there is no “ most difficult ” moment. one permanently has to be prepared, alert and ready to take appropriate decisions. i have to say that ever since its creation, the ecb has had many challenges – the bursting of the dot - com bubble, the terrorist attack of 9 / 11, oil and bis central bankers ’ speeches commodity price shocks. i was not president at that time, when my predecessor, wim duisenberg, had to cope with the 9 / 11 shock. and all my colleagues and myself have been coping for four years with a succession of tensions that are all demanding. question : what do you consider your biggest achievement as president of the ecb? trichet : the biggest achievement of the ecb is to be able to tell 331 million fellow citizens that 12 years after the introduction of the euro, we have average yearly inflation of 1. 97 %, which is fully in line with what