. apart from the necessity to successfully maintain and foster stability and growth, europemust also meet the challenge of the recent geographic expansion of ten new member states, which is of immense historical magnitude. the maastricht treaty was negotiated by 12 countries. we are now 25, and virtually already 27. hence, in europe a unique “ vertical ” economic and political transformation and a geographic “ horizontal ” expansion of an immense significance are intertwined. the need to accommodate and integrate 458 million european fellow citizens will certainly keep us on our toes. i consider it also part of the ongoing process that we will be faced with difficult moments from time to time, the european constitution being one example. in my opinion a temporary setback on the way to a more comprehensive european union will in no way stop the process. it might just sharpen our awareness for striving to strike the right balance between widening and deepening the eu, as integration is the driving force for securing peace and welfare in europe, also for the next generations. with my renewed congratulations and the best wishes for your personal future, i thank you for your attention. 3 / 3

the institutions involved have taken part in these preparations, contributing their know - how and experience. those responsible for economic and monetary policies in the national finance ministries and central banks as well as in the commission and in the emi will largely be serving in similar positions within emu, thereby ensuring continuity. the degree of mutual convergence already achieved is particularly apparent in monetary policy and central banking. coordination of monetary and exchange rate policies within the ems over the past twenty years and preparations for monetary union since the early 1990s have resulted in an impressive convergence in the perception of the role and tasks of monetary policy and of the overruling target of price stability. this was also highlighted very clearly in the convergence reports of the emi and the commission. the financial markets have rewarded these efforts by a convergence of interest rates and stable exchange rates. today, all of the eu central banks participating in the euro area from january 1, 1999, are independent, committed to the primary target of price stability and have already largely adapted their monetary policy instruments to the future needs of the escb. the ecb will bring together what is best in the traditions of the european central banks. the same central bank governors who are responsible today for their countries ’ stability - oriented monetary policies will be shaping the monetary policy for the euro in their function as members of the ecb governing council. all these arguments give me the confidence that the ecb will be able to enjoy, from the very - 13 - beginning, the same credibility that the most successful central banks of the escb have had in the past. the principle of evolution will also – and very much so – apply to the future distribution of duties within the escb and thus to the national central banks ’ role within the system. the histories of the few existing central bank systems organized on federal principles show that the assignment of tasks and duties within such a system may undergo substantial changes over the years in the light of practical experience. let us take a final look at the us federal reserve system. when this system was first established, it was extremely decentralized. as new experience was gained, decision - making on monetary policies as well as the operative branch of monetary policy were centralized. by this i certainly do not wish to imply that the operative activities of the escb will be moving towards centralization. the fed and the escb are developing against vastly different historical and political backgrounds. the european monetary union is a union of independent states, whereas the fed system operates in a unified nation. accordingly,