the eurosystem has contributed to reshaping and consolidating the infrastructure for large - value payments, for post - trading services for financial instruments and, most recently, for instant retail payments. over the next two or three years we aim at taking measures to consolidate target2 and target2 - securities ( t2s ), in particular by delivering a centralised liquidity management function ; developing a single collateral management system that will be capable of managing the assets used as collateral in eurosystem credit operations for all euro area countries. harmonization agenda more harmonization is necessary to achieve a safe and efficient european post trade landscape. the european post trade forum ( eptf ) report identifies barriers which have not yet been dismantled ( formerly known as “ giovannini barriers ” ), as well as new bottlenecks which need to be addressed to promote more efficient and resilient market infrastructures in the eu. these include : 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches inefficient withholding tax collection procedures legal inconsistencies and uncertainties fragmented corporate actions and general meeting processes more harmonisation of national insolvency rules is needed to make european resolution more effective. the recently agreed proposal ( december 2018 ) is a minimum harmonization directive allowing member states to go further when transposing the rules into national law. european issuance an important element in a well - functioning capital market is the smooth interplay between issuance on the primary market, investors and secondary markets. in europe, the issuance and distribution of securities is still complex and operational cost are elevated. securities are still issued along different national rules, standards and habits. central securities depositories ( csd ) play a pivotal role in this process. today, issuers usually issue in one csd. all other csds, and their national customer base, need to access these securities by connecting to this initial one. this chopped - up process is complex and relatively expensive. investors and issuers alike see scope for improvements. 1 the progress made is evaluated using five categories : “ no progress ”, “ limited progress ”, “ some progress ”, “ substantial progress ” and “ full implementation ”. “ no progress ” means that the member state concerned did not even “ credibly announce ” measures that would aim to address the policy recommendation. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

mario draghi : ecb press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 6 november 2014. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council, which was also attended by the commission vice - president, mr dombrovskis. based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, and in line with our forward guidance, we decided to keep the key ecb interest rates unchanged. following up on the decisions of 2 october 2014, we last month started purchasing covered bonds under our new programme. we will also soon start to purchase asset - backed securities. the programmes will last for at least two years. together with the series of targeted longer - term refinancing operations to be conducted until june 2016, these asset purchases will have a sizeable impact on our balance sheet, which is expected to move towards the dimensions it had at the beginning of 2012. our measures will enhance the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, support financing conditions in the euro area, facilitate credit provision to the real economy and generate positive spillovers to other markets. they will thereby further ease the monetary policy stance more broadly, support our forward guidance on the key ecb interest rates and reinforce the fact that there are significant and increasing differences in the monetary policy cycle between major advanced economies. with the measures that have been put in place, monetary policy has responded to the outlook for low inflation, a weakening growth momentum and continued subdued monetary and credit dynamics. our accommodative monetary policy stance will underpin the firm anchoring of medium to long - term inflation expectations, in line with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2 %. as they work their way through to the economy, our monetary policy measures will together contribute to a return of inflation rates to levels closer to our aim. however, looking ahead, and taking into account new information and analysis, the governing council will closely monitor and continuously assess the appropriateness of its monetary policy stance. should it become necessary to further address risks of too prolonged a period of low inflation, the governing council is unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments within its mandate. the governing council has tasked ecb staff and the relevant eurosystem committees with ensuring the timely preparation of further measures to be implemented, if needed. let