, and for that reason it is very important that society accepts the values and behaviour observed in the economy. you ’ ve spent the last 40 years working in the public sector in the area of monetary policy – first in paris for france, and now in frankfurt for the euro area. can you tell us something : what is money, the nature of money? money has an essential function. it acts as a store of value, it is a means of exchange and it allows people to calculate the price of everything. money is an inseparable element of civilisation, as it allows the division of labour. it is only thanks to money that we have cities at all. i would compare money to a poem, since a poem always retains its structure, just as a gold coin always retains the image stamped on it. once formed – whether written or minted – these two things should not and cannot be altered. goethe gave considerable thought to this issue, as you can see from reading faust. to what extent are you personally fascinated by money? i, personally, am not fascinated by wealth. in germany we say that money rules the world. would you, as a man of money, confirm that? no, i would not say that at all. ideas rule the world – hopefully. money is a means, not an end ; an instrument, not the ultimate goal ; un moyen, pas une fin. bis central bankers ’ speeches your wife recently said on german television that the question of whether she was pleased that her husband ’ s work was coming to an end was a “ delicate and difficult question ”. she also said that she hopes you find something to occupy yourself with as soon as possible. what does madame trichet mean by that? did she really say that? she knows me well. i will certainly remain active. but i will wait until i have left the ecb before deciding what exactly i will do. does she perhaps mean that jean - claude trichet cannot be happy without work? you can trust my wife on that! mr trichet, why is your signature on the euro banknotes? the euro banknotes are issued by the ecb. i therefore sign the euro banknotes as president of the ecb, on behalf of the governing council. currently there are around 14 billion euro banknotes in circulation. bis central bankers ’ speeches

. are these fights damaging the ecb? i wouldn ’ t say they are damaging it, but certainly they are not contributing to the effectiveness of the policies. criticism of draghi is intensifying in the north of europe. are you fearful of disengagement from the european project in countries such as germany? we have to redouble our communication efforts. the ecb has delivered low inflation and a favourable environment in which germany has enjoyed ten years of strong growth. germany has been much better off with the euro. in september the votes against came from countries that together account for more than half of the eurozone ’ s population. i don ’ t represent spain on the executive board. you have to act with the entire eurozone in mind. the “ one member, one vote ” system, as occurs in the governing council, is especially democratic as it avoids imbalances in the decision - making process. but we clearly have to consider germany. if the german economy grinds to a halt, we will all be affected. we ’ re all in the same boat. could ms lagarde ’ s arrival ease some of these tensions? i don ’ t think there will be a sudden change in policy by any means. i ’ m confident that everyone on the governing council will work together with christine lagarde with unwavering loyalty from the outset. the ecb has just lowered its growth forecasts, but some people think they are still too 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches optimistic. the slowdown is coming from the external sector, which has a strong impact on countries like germany. if it does fall into recession, it will be a technical recession and the economy will rebound quickly. the risk is not so much one of recession, but rather of entering a prolonged period of very moderate growth, below 1. 5 %. this is why players other than the ecb have to get involved. is the euro area prepared for a no - deal brexit? the financial sector is, yes. but the main impact will not come from the financial sector ; it will come from the overall impact on the united kingdom, which is the second - largest european economy. contingency plans are in place in the financial sector, but other sectors are not as well prepared. the spanish economy is also starting to be a concern. spain has enjoyed above - average growth since 2013, but nobody can escape the global slowdown. that said, the spanish economy can steer