implementing comprehensive structural reforms – in public expenditure and revenues and product, labour and financial markets. the forthcoming finalisation of the broad economic policy guidelines for 2002 will be an opportunity both to take stock of the unfinished agenda following the agreements of lisbon and, more recently, of barcelona and, in particular, to accelerate the implementation of reforms. as we have said on numerous occasions, such reforms are needed to increase the growth of real gdp and employment on a sustainable basis. past experiences both inside and outside the european union indicate that measures to promote the efficiency and integration of markets, the encouragement of entrepreneurship and the fostering of a knowledge - based economy are clearly working in this direction and are thus in the interest of all member countries. we are now at your disposal for questions.

groups and facilitate lending across borders. only then would we be able to harness the benefits of genuine european banking groups in funding the upcoming transformations. and those benefits are substantial. truly european banks can effectively diversify their risks across sectors and regions. they have the capacity to lend more at scale and thus handle cross - border financing projects that smaller locally focused banks cannot. more integrated banks can also play a pivotal role as key capital market makers. this brings me to the second way in which banks can help to improve europe's financing capacity. more integrated banks have the critical mass to attract companies across the euro area for stock market listings, debt securities placements, private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and support for international growth. moreover, progress in establishing a genuine capital markets union can help to remove the differences in national regulatory frameworks that currently hinder cross - border bank activity, paving the way for a sufficiently large securitisation market. banks would then be able to transfer risk to investors and unlock additional lending. to put this into perspective, banks in the united states currently benefit from a securitisation market that is three times the size of europe's. even without a statesponsored framework, safely expanding our own market could unlock tremendous potential within our bank - based financial system. and robust supervisory standards would be key to ensuring that the risks tied to securitisation are managed effectively. conclusion let me conclude. a decade ago, we embarked on a journey to establish european supervision to address the vulnerabilities exposed by the financial crisis and complete our monetary union. it was a bold step, born out of necessity and vision. ten years later, it is clear that european banking supervision has not only met, but exceeded, our expectations. the achievements we are celebrating today are the result of our joint efforts. many of you have played a pivotal role in this success, and i want to express my deep gratitude for your unwavering commitment and tireless energy. as we look ahead to the next decade, we must harness this same determination and energy. our aim is clear : to ensure that european banks are in an even better position to fund the economy. this means creating the conditions for a genuine single banking 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches market – one that allows us to leverage the combined financing power of our banking system to overcome the challenges europe is facing. as benjamin franklin wisely said, " energy and persistence conquer all things ". we currently need