among a different set of entities. the ecb, in its catalyst role, will promote innovation by involving all relevant stakeholders and thereby foster change which underpins the safety and efficiency of financial markets. in this vein, it will help facilitate a discussion to ensure that potential dlt - based solutions – of a public or industry nature – are interoperable with other market solutions based on dlt. we believe that it will benefit all prospective users of the technology, since public authorities and market participants agree that the big potential of dlt lies in its network effect. in addition, within the ecb, we have recently established a dlt task force as part of the posttrade harmonisation agenda within the t2s governance framework. its objective is to assess the potential impact of dlt on harmonisation, from both the t2s and the wider european perspective, with a view to supporting other t2s governance bodies advising the eurosystem in this respect. it is vital that such work takes place in the context of t2s to allow proactive collaboration with the market. facilitating functional harmonisation ex ante – in a coordinated effort with all relevant stakeholders – can ensure that innovations that are proven to be safe can be adopted without harming market integration. our overriding objective will continue to be fostering integration and avoiding fragmentation. conclusion new technologies will have a profound impact on the financial market. it is essential that these technologies are explored, analysed and tested to ensure that tomorrow ’ s market infrastructure is not only efficient and innovative but also remains safe and resilient. exploring the potential of new technologies such as dlt is high on the ecb ’ s strategic agenda. to conclude, let me recap a few key points : the ecb considers new technologies as essential to enhancing the efficiency of our market infrastructure. however, it ’ s time to frame the discussion. i think the potential of dlt in the field of market infrastructures revolves around two fundamental concepts of central bank money on dlt : first, can central bank settlement services themselves be operated in a dlt environment? today, dlt is not ready for mass adoption and not sufficiently mature for use in our central bank market infrastructures ( given the high requirements of safety and efficiency ). future use needs to be explored, and this is what we are doing based on concrete use cases ( i. e. can dlt meet the target2 / t2s service levels ). as new technologies don

recovery with positive quarterly growth rates is expected. the significant policy stimuli in all major economic areas should support growth globally, including in the euro area. in the view of the governing council, uncertainty remains high and we have to be prepared for ongoing volatility in incoming data. overall, the risks to this outlook remain balanced. on the upside, there may be stronger than anticipated effects stemming from the extensive macroeconomic stimulus being provided and from other policy measures taken. confidence may also improve more quickly than currently expected. on the downside, concerns remain relating to a stronger or more protracted negative feedback loop between the real economy and the turmoil in financial markets, renewed increases in oil and other commodity prices, the intensification of protectionist pressures, more unfavourable than expected labour market conditions and, lastly, adverse developments in the world economy stemming from a disorderly correction of global imbalances. with regard to price developments, annual hicp inflation was, according to eurostat ’ s flash estimate, - 0. 6 % in july, compared with - 0. 1 % in june. this further decline in annual rates of inflation was anticipated and reflects primarily base effects resulting from the peaks observed in global commodity prices a year ago. looking ahead, owing to these base effects, annual inflation rates are projected to remain temporarily in negative territory, before turning positive again later this year. however, such short - term movements are not relevant from a monetary policy perspective. consistent with available forecasts and projections, looking further ahead, inflation is expected to remain in positive territory, while price and cost developments are expected to remain subdued in the wake of ongoing sluggish demand in the euro area and elsewhere. in this respect, indicators of inflation expectations over the medium to longer term remain firmly anchored in line with the governing council ’ s aim of keeping inflation rates below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. risks to the outlook for inflation are broadly balanced. they relate, in particular, to the outlook for economic activity and to higher than expected commodity prices. furthermore, increases in indirect taxation and administered prices may be stronger than currently expected owing to the need for fiscal consolidation in the coming years. turning to the monetary analysis, the latest data confirm the ongoing deceleration in broad money and credit growth. the annual growth rates of m3 and of loans to the private sector recorded in june – 3. 5 % and 1. 5 % respectively – are the lowest since the start of stage three of