pooling sovereignty on issues of direct common interest became the new basis for cooperation between the european nations. at the time such a project seemed bold and optimistic – just as calling for further, deeper integration seems bold and optimistic today. but our founders were right. europe has delivered peace, prosperity and political stability for a period of time that has no precedents in its modern history. this year marks the 60th anniversary of the treaty of rome that created the european union and the 25th anniversary of the maastricht treaty that created the monetary union. further progress is needed. the institutional architecture of the economic and monetary union remains incomplete in a number of aspects. the crisis has exposed structural weaknesses in our construction and has forced us to address them. the repair has started with the creation of 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches the banking union. but the work is far from over and the challenges we face go beyond economic and monetary union. they pertain to security, migration, defence, and generally all those challenges that can be addressed only by pooling sovereignty. and these challenges are greater than in the past. today we can sense a rising wave of energy in demanding joint european action. the european union and the euro always commanded the support of the majority of european citizens, but, often, it was only the vocal opposition that was heard. now this silent majority has regained its voice, its pride, and its self - confidence. only by working together can the nations of europe overcome these challenges. the opportunity for progress is real. values and judgement lie at the heart of all our undertakings. but they need to be supported by continuing research, ever increasing knowledge, and uncompromising examination of facts. this was true in addressing the great financial crisis, designing and implementing policies that improve the world economy and building institutions that deliver peace and prosperity in europe. but it is also true in all the fields represented today by my fellow recipients. that is why we must be grateful to all places of knowledge, and today to the university of tel aviv. thank you once more, not only for the honour that you are bestowing upon us, but also for your ongoing contribution to our common good. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

sound financing of the french economy during a slowdown in other countries, banking sector profitability and profits are even higher than those currently being observed in france. indeed, these record profits are attracting criticism and windfall taxes elsewhere : i believe it is fortunate that this is not the case in france. however, the soundness of the banking system must be accompanied by the effective financing of our economy. 2. 1 businesses are still well financed as far as businesses ( including smes and vses ) are concerned, access to credit appears to be relatively well preserved. driven by investment loans, outstanding loans are continuing to grow for all sizes of business at a rate that is gradually slowing down ( 3. 0 % year - on - year to the end of september ), reflecting lower demand for credit from non - financial corporations. compared with our european neighbours, access to bank loans also continues to be more favourable in france where interest rates on new loans are lower on average ( 4. 6 % in france in september, compared with 5. 05 % in the euro area ) ; the share of approved loans has remained stable – both for financing investment and cash flow – according to our quarterly business survey published yesterday evening. page 8 of 12 credit mediation, which is available in all of the banque de france ’ s departmental branches, is still not very widely used, with an average of around a hundred requests per month over the past year. nevertheless, the steady slowdown in outstanding business loans means that we must remain vigilant. 2. 2 housing loans are a more sensitive area housing loans are a more sensitive area. new housing loans ( excluding renegotiations ) fell to a low of eur 9. 2 billion in september, a level almost identical to the monthly average recorded prior to 2015 and the introduction of ultra - accommodative monetary policies. this slowdown in new housing loans is only natural given our position in the interest rate cycle. after making massive use of housing loans up to mid - 2022, french households are now adopting a wait - and - see attitude in the face of higher interest rates - even though they remain lower than in neighbouring european countries - and, correlatively, of house prices that have only just begun to come down since the start of the year at national level. page 9 of 12 however, aside from a wait - and - see approach, there is a big question mark over supply, and the fact that " banks appear to have stopped