willem f duisenberg : are different price developments in the euro area a cause for concern? speech by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the financial services industry association, dublin, on 6 september 2000. * 1. * * introduction ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure for me to speak here in dublin on the occasion of the annual dinner of the financial services industry association ( fsia ). public support for the euro in ireland has been particularly strong, and this may be due to the prevailing expectation, stronger than elsewhere, of economic benefits resulting from the single currency. the introduction of the euro, however, also poses some new questions and challenges for the ecb and national economic policymakers. today i should like to take the opportunity to elaborate on one particular issue, that is the challenge posed by different inflation rates across countries or regions within the euro area. there is a general consensus that the euro area economies have experienced a great deal of convergence both in terms of economic growth and inflation during the past decade. in fact, the move to a single currency and the introduction of the euro are based on a successful convergence process towards a high degree of price stability in participating countries. however, this does not mean that countries have always had the same rates of inflation during the past decade. and, indeed, there is no reason to believe that they will - at all times - have the same rates of inflation within monetary union. i am well aware that divergences in inflation have increased lately in the euro area as a whole. for example, inflation in ireland deviates significantly from area - wide inflation. 2. different price developments will not generally disappear there are a number of reasons why differences in economic conditions have occurred in the past, and there is ample reason to expect that some degree of economic divergence will continue to emerge within the euro area. first, there may be reasons why some differences in inflation may occur over relatively short periods of time. second, national or even regional rates of inflation may also differ within a single currency area over longer periods of time. let me elaborate on each of these factors in turn. short - term differences in inflation may generally occur due to country - specific, statistical and “ erratic ” factors. first, government policies may lead to different price developments via tax changes, liberalisation measures and administrative price changes, as they are generally not of the same magnitude and timing across all euro area countries. the deregulation of national electricity

in 2021, after a challenging year with significant difficulties caused by measures to prevent the covid - 19 pandemic. preliminary estimates of kas suggest that the country ’ s economy in 2021 marked a real growth rate of 10. 5 %. significant impact on the growth of economic activity had the measures of movement relaxation, which greatly increased the visits of our diaspora in kosovo, visits which represent a very important source of funding for the country ’ s economy. the concept of transition elaborated by the ebrd report rightly argues that a well - functioning 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches market economy must be competitive, inclusive, well - governed, environmentally friendly, sustainable and integrated. we welcome the conclusions and recommendations from the transition report and consider them to be a good guide for kosovo ’ s economic perspective. the report pays special attention to digitalization, which is also transforming the financial system worldwide. we see the digital transformation process as an opportunity for financial institutions to become more efficient as well as improve access to financial services for households and businesses. in terms of payments, the cbk has taken some important steps in market liberalization, where payments and money transfer services are also allowed to be provided by non - bank financial institutions. the cbk plans to further liberalize the payment services market by adopting the eu payment services directive known as psd2, as well as two eu directives addressing payment accounts and electronic money, in under the new law on payment services. for the end, allow me to once again express my highest appreciation to the ebrd, which has consistently proven to be a very important supporter of kosovo ’ s economic development and promoter of structural reforms in the country ’ s economy. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches