gentlemen, 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches having been trained and having worked in the field of economics for more than 50 years, i am fully aware of the relevance of research for public policy decision making. we, at the national bank of romania, have been trying to stimulate quality research as a credible source of economic policy advice. we have encouraged participation to other events of at least similar scope, in which the nbr experts would present the results of their research, focused mainly on problems specific to the romanian economy. the interaction with and the validation of the results by the academic community, including you, the academic diaspora, represent important steps in validating the research. thus, our partnership with the ermas association and babe - bolyai university in organizing the future editions of this conference come as a natural step towards reaching the above - mentioned objectives. implementing monetary policy in emerging economies has always been a challenging task. as experience has taught us, for a small open economy - with a fully liberalized capital account and frequently unpredictable capital flows - multiple monetary policy instruments are needed most of the time. even more so now, in an environment prone to ample shocks and increased volatility related to the pandemic and the current war in neighboring ukraine. i am glad to see that some of the papers included in the program of the conference address this issue of multiple instruments, such as the exchange rate. macroprudential policies are also helpful for maintaining financial stability and these issues are also addressed. the current economic context, marked by overlapping crises, represents quite a challenge to the policy makers. for central banks across the world, bringing down the relatively high and persistent inflation is such a test. many of the papers that are going to be presented analyze the determinants of inflation such as energy prices, global supply chain pressures, labor market or fiscal policy and its interaction with monetary policy. ladies and gentlemen, in 2000, when romania started the negotiation process to join the european union, its gdp per capita in terms of purchasing power standards represented only twenty six percent of the eu per capita average, the lowest among eu and candidate countries. in 2007, when romania joined eu, its gdp per capita represented forty - four percent of the eu7 per capita average ( in terms of purchasing power standards ). the same ratio now is seventy - seven percent ( 76. 9 percent ), above greece ( 68 percent ), similar with that of portugal ( 77. 3 percent ) or hungary ( 77.

). increasing access to finance in this sector is among the eu priorities. it is also true that this portfolio accounted for the highest post - crisis npl ratio in the european union. at its peak, the average npl ratio for small and medium enterprises reached around 20 percent at european union level. in romania, the ratio was 35 percent, while the npl ratio for microenterprises accounted for 53 percent. therefore, the same lesson learnt from the household sector also applies here : the small and medium enterpises ’ financial inclusion should unfold in a sustainable way. on the other hand, the experience with macroprudential instruments for companies is extremely limited at the european level. for example, france has recently implemented a measure focusing on highly indebted firms, but it applies only to large companies. therefore, i think that deepening this area of research is very useful for macroprudential policymakers. in romania we have also tried to come up with solutions that might improve small and medium enterprises ’ financial inclusion. our macroprudential authority – the national committee for macroprudential oversight, comprising representatives from the central bank, the ministry of public finance, and the financial supervisory authority – adopted last year a recommendation to the government, seeking to improve financial discipline in the economy and the financial soundness of firms. i strongly believe that addressing these structural vulnerabilities in the corporate sector will significantly increase the number of bankable firms and enhance the financial inclusion of small and medium enterprises. last, but not least, the climate - related topics have become more and more prominent worldwide. the financial system should not ignore the effects of climate risks. central banks and supervisory authorities have joined the scene. there is a significant interest at eu level in the role of sustainable finance, a high - level expert group on sustainable finance being established by the union. the network for greening the financial system, that brings together 34 members, out of which 8 are central banks and supervisory authorities, highlighted the role of climate risks as a source of financial vulnerabilities. not only the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather can translate into economic and financial losses for the real economy and the financial system, but consequences can also arise from transitioning to a low - carbon economy. governments ’ climate policy, new technologies and consumer preferences will be the main drivers influencing the developments in carbon - intensive sectors. having in mind the important ramifications, a coherent policy mix is needed in order to