prospective weight of the emerging markets consider first the economic weight of emerging market countries. as we know, it is significant, increasingly significant. these countries constitute over half of the world ’ s population, with china and india alone accounting for over one third. due to the profound economic transformations ongoing, many of these economies are faced with rapid urbanisation. to date, seven of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the world are located in emerging markets. the combined population of three of these metropolitan areas, mexico city, sao paulo and mumbai, is as large as that of my home country, france. and we know that istanbul ranks among the largest cities in the world, with a population of over 11 million. the numbers are also increasingly impressive in terms of economic size. emerging markets account for almost 40 % of world gdp at purchasing power parity, and 20 % at market value. and if these economies are already large, they are also growing rapidly, at about 7 % per annum on average over the past five years. turkey has been growing at a similarly rapid pace, while the most economically vigorous region of the world, emerging asia, has been growing even faster, at close to 8 % per annum. this makes emerging markets one of the main engines of world growth, with a contribution of over one half last year. emerging countries ’ citizens have reaped the benefits of such rapid development with higher standards of living. over the last decade, gdp per capita has risen by 30 % on average, to reach over usd 9, 000. the integration of emerging economies into global markets of goods and services has been similarly swift. if you look at the world exports of goods and services, the combined share of emerging markets doubled between the early 1990s and 2006, to reach roughly 30 %. but these are well - known macroeconomic facts. perhaps even more striking is the microeconomic evidence of the economic success of both companies and individuals in emerging markets, which is sometimes unprecedented in terms of rapidity. let me give you a few examples. four companies among the world ’ s 20 largest in terms of market value originate from emerging markets. 6 two oil and gas firms, one russian and one chinese, rank in the top ten. moreover, according to forbes, seven of the 20 richest individuals in the world are from the emerging markets, with three from india alone. 7 in 2005, there were more than 300, 000 millionaires ( measured in us dollars or in euro ) in china. this seems to be

very often, the threats made against their independence are part of populist rhetoric, which regularly proposes simple, magical solutions to complex problems. while these solutions may seem appealing, they are rarely correct. why has the ecb not used debt purchases to support more directly the ecological transition or the fight against inequality? the ecb and the euro area national central banks have purchased many green bonds, both public and private, within the framework of their asset purchase programme, while ensuring that their purchases are conducted in a market - neutral manner. furthermore, these asset purchases and the other measures taken by the ecb in recent years have been the main source of support for the economic recovery and the fall in unemployment in the euro area. all the studies we have carried out show that job creation is the main lever for reducing inequality. many people feel that the eu is not doing enough to protect them from globalisation. are they right? despite national concerns on the subject, the recovery in the euro area is bearing fruit. it is creating jobs, and people are taking note of that. by way of evidence, recent surveys show that almost 80 % of people in the euro area have confidence in the euro. few political parties can boast such support! and this confirms that the member states are stronger together than they are alone when it comes to dealing with globalisation. were you surprised by the “ gilets jaunes ” movement in france? to a degree, yes, because france is one of the most egalitarian countries in europe in terms of income distribution. but other factors have played a role. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches wouldn ’ t it be more sensible for us to adjust to permanently weak growth rather than constantly seeking to raise gdp? it ’ s true that demographic trends in europe are not very favourable for growth. but that shouldn ’ t stop us from implementing reforms that aim to boost growth in the long term. at the euro area level, we need to complete the banking union and the fiscal instrument that is essential to be able to stabilise the economy when there is a downturn. we also need to achieve greater integration, for example by encouraging the creation of cross - border banks. and that requires us to further harmonise legislation, and to pursue greater consolidation in the sector, even though banks are now much better capitalised and much more resilient than they were ten years ago. isn ’ t money laundering a more urgent issue that needs tackling? several european credit institutions