stability : an inflation rate of less than 2 % but close to 2 %. over the past 12 years we have delivered a rate of 1. 97 % as a yearly average for the euro area as a whole, exactly in line with our definition. and we will continue to deliver this level of price stability in the next ten years to come. that is our primary mandate, our contribution to stability and, therefore, to confidence in europe. it is a necessary condition for growth and job creation in the euro area. i think that this solid anchoring of inflation expectations and the credibility of the ecb to deliver price stability in the medium term is positive for all countries in the euro area, including those that have adjustments to implement. in particular, if we were not credible, the medium and long - term interest rates would incorporate a higher level of inflation expectations and therefore these market interest rates would also be higher everywhere in the euro area. question : the nobel prize laureate paul krugman has also criticised the recent rate hike. he believes that the ecb intends to place on the periphery of the euro area the burden of economic adjustment to avoid the eruption of inflationary pressures in germany. is this true? trichet : we look at the euro area as a whole. we are responsible for the currency of 331 million citizens. just as the federal reserve in the united states looks at all the states of bis central bankers ’ speeches america and not particularly, for example, at florida, california or massachusetts. our decisions are based upon our assessment of what the euro area as a whole needs to enjoy price stability in the medium term. question : the european commission wants to increase its expenses in the next financial framework ( 2014 – 2020 ). what do you think of this move, also considering that thousands of european commission officials earn more than, say, the estonian prime minister. is such a situation fair? trichet : these decisions are taken by the council, namely the college of governments. in our view, governments should be very careful : if they increase spending at the level of europe as a whole, they have to reduce their spending at the national level. because when everything is taken into account – the national level plus the european level – europe has a very high level of public spending as a proportion of gdp in comparison with, for example, all other g7 advanced economies. question : are you satisfied with the way the ecb, the eu and the governments are collaborating and managing the debt crisis and the

eddie yue : opening remarks at the commencement event of e - hkd pilot programme opening remarks by mr eddie yue, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the commencement event of e - hkd pilot programme, hong kong, 18 may 2023. * * * good afternoon, everyone. a very warm welcome to all of you for joining today's commencement of the e - hkd pilot programme, especially to those of you flying from other parts of the world. central bank digital currency, or cbdc, is one of the hottest topics in the central banking community today. over a hundred central banks are studying it and a few dozens of them are working on various types of pilot trials. the hkma has been researching and piloting on cbdc since 2017. apart from the exciting work that we are doing with our three partner central banks on the application of wholesale cbdc under project mbridge, the hkma has also been exploring the prospect of issuing retail cbdc, or e - hkd, in hong kong. e - hkd is beyond technology we conducted two rounds of market consultation in the past two years. overall, the respondents are supportive of the e - hkd initiative and believe that e - hkd has the potential to make payments faster and more efficient while supporting the digital economy. however, we are cognizant of the fact that e - hkd is not and should not be merely a technology project. its implementation would entail far - reaching implications on a wide range of issues relating to areas such as legal, regulatory, policy, financial stability, privacy, cybersecurity, and interaction with existing payment methods. we also understand that e - hkd would be a critical and complex financial infrastructure project that may take years to complete. therefore, we announced in september last year that we would adopt a three - rail approach to pave the way for possible implementation of e - hkd : rail 1 aims to lay the technology and legal foundations for supporting the implementation of e - hkd. rail 2 focuses on application research and pilots, and it runs in parallel with rail 1. rail 3 is concerned about launching e - hkd, which will depend on the actual progress made under rail 1 and rail 2, as well as the pace of relevant market development. this comprehensive three - rail approach will ensure that hong kong continues to play a leading role in the global financial landscape by getting ourselves ready as best as we can in terms of implementing retail cb