support for its actions. this is a task for the national central banks, whose historical ties to their own peoples are deeply rooted. in this respect it should also be kept in mind that the fed ’ s accountability to congress has no equivalent in europe. although the president of the escb is expected to appear periodically before the european parliament, the latter does not have the same powers as the us congress, which can in principle amend the federal reserve act. furthermore, any discussion of the european policy mix will be different in nature because budgetary policy will remain the province of the european member states. this policy will, however, be subject to the limitations set out in the stability pact recently agreed by the member states, which as you know aims to foster sustained sound public finances in europe. 8. what i have just said about the need to develop a “ european ” perspective has implications for monetary and economic analysis. the centre will need to have at its disposal considerable analytical machinery in order to be able to perform this pioneering role successfully. as a system of european statistics and analysis cannot be set up overnight, no time should be lost. indeed, the preparations being made at the emi in this area are proceeding at full steam. of course, these new statistics will take getting used to. but, at the same time, some things will remain unchanged. national analyses will continue to play an important role so long as europe has not been transformed into a single economy. after all, if we wish to understand what is happening at the european level, we would be well advised also to look at the underlying national economic relationships. with respect to these analytical tasks, the division of labour between the centre and the national central banks is likely to evolve of its own accord. at first glance, this division seems likely to reflect that the national central banks know their own economies best. 9. contrary to the us situation, the implementation of monetary policy in europe will not take place at one location away from the centre but, where possible and appropriate, decentrally. that has to do with the fact that europe ’ s central banks and financial markets have a rich and extensive history. a decentral approach makes allowance for differences in european practices and market conditions. in this context it should be noted that the formulation chosen for decentralization in europe in principle allows for the ecb to play a role in policy implementation. there is no knowing in advance how the tasks will be divided among the national central banks themselves, and between them and

convictions, and present them to voters in a clear and consequential fashion. if we want to achieve a strong, well - functioning and sustainable europe that works for all of us, then we must be willing to do what it takes. it requires us to better harmonize our economic policies, and to jointly invest in sustainable growth. firmly based on member states assuming responsibility for putting their own house in order. with the realization that all member states must do their bit. and with the prospect of creating a better future for us all. thank you * * * 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches