mario draghi : introductory remarks at the ep ’ s economic and monetary affairs committee speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, before the european parliament ’ s economic and monetary affairs committee, brussels, 22 september 2014. * * * mr chairman, honourable members of the economic and monetary affairs committee, ladies and gentlemen, this hearing today takes place at a moment of change for the ecb. on 4 november, the ecb will become the banking supervisor for the euro area, including the direct supervision of 120 large banks. this marks the biggest step of european economic integration since the inception of the euro. we are well prepared for this step, but we are also conscious of the important additional responsibility we will be taking on. additionally, over the course of the coming months, the majority of the ecb ’ s services will move to the new ecb premises at frankfurt ostend, while the ssm staff will remain in the city centre. this will also geographically underline the separation between the ecb ’ s new supervisory function and its other tasks. in this context, i wish to inform you that we have published today our decision on the implementation of separation between the ecb ’ s monetary policy and supervisory functions as required by the ssm regulation. i know that on 3 november, on the eve of the start of single supervision, you will have ample opportunity to discuss with the chair of the supervisory board. by then, the results of the comprehensive assessment will also be known. against this background, i will today and in the hearings from now on focus my attention on the traditional tasks of the ecb – and in particular on monetary policy. economic situation the economic recovery in the euro area is losing momentum. following some moderate expansion in recent quarters, growth of the euro area real gdp came to a halt in the second quarter of this year. the early information on economic conditions which we received over the summer has been somewhat weaker than expected. while industrial production and manufacturing orders in july gave some reason for optimism, more recent survey indicators have given no indication that the sharp decline registered in august has stopped. looking ahead, we continue to expect euro area domestic demand to be supported by various factors. these include our accommodative monetary policy stance, favourable financing conditions, and structural reforms sustaining private consumption and investment. at the same time, unacceptably high unemployment and continued weak credit growth are likely to curb the strength of the recovery. the risks surrounding the expected

carlos da silva costa : farewell speech in honor of president mario draghi address by mr carlos da silva costa, governor of the bank of portugal, at the ecb governing council dinner in honor of president mario draghi, frankfurt am main, 23 october 2019. * * * as prepared for delivery dear mario, dear friends, as the longest serving governor of a national central bank in the governing council, i have been awarded the privilege and honour to say a few words at mario ’ s farewell dinner. when mario took office as president of the ecb eight years ago, europe was diving deep into the sovereign debt crisis. financial markets questioned the ability of highly indebted euro area countries to pay back their debts. a break up of the euro was a real possibility and redenomination risk premia appeared. eight years have passed, the euro is here to stay, and rests on much stronger foundations. mario´s contribution to this outcome cannot be overemphasised. his leadership as president of the ecb has shown a remarkable ability : to evaluate the context ; to separate what is essential from what is secondary ; to build consensus within the ecb ’ s governing council to pursue the required unconventional policies ; and last, but not least, to convince european leaders of the need to strengthen the foundations of the emu. mario provided impetus to the creation of the banking union, and took upon the ecb the task of setting up the single supervisory mechanism. mario has had the courage to search for solutions that tested the limits of our common mandate, while being open and flexible on how to achieve it. in doing so, he had to cope with a lack of understanding by important sectors of public opinion. with its balanced and determined decisions to define the outright monetary transactions mechanism and to provide conditional financing to the greek banking system, the ecb effectively saved the euro. with its bold unconventional policies, the ecb effectively prevented the euro area from sliding into deflation. it also allowed the time for political agents to adjust their fiscal policies, to adopt structural measures and to agree on institutional improvements needed for a sustainable economic and monetary union. mario has proven to be intellectually curious and open, looking at facts and questioning theories. he has instilled mental discipline among all of us working with him, and throughout the ecb. without annulling differences in opinion, mario was able to make us converge to a common course of action. mario, dear president, you understood the problems we were confronted