? ”, in sapir, a. ( editor ), fragmented power : europe and the global economy, bruegel. bis central bankers ’ speeches resources, defending european interests globally and pushing the european agenda in respect of “ global common goods ” ( e. g. improving global economic and financial governance, protecting human rights ). this is not only about selling products that create jobs in our economies, but also about being able to exert influence on the future course of globalisation. europe, if it were to speak with one voice in international financial fora, would be in a stronger position to shape global policy outcomes. in this regard, creating a unified euro area representation in global economic fora would be consistent with the very high level of economic and financial integration in emu. the two euro area countries that each have a permanent seat on the imf executive board, france and germany, could lead by example and merge their seats. the third pillar would be the strengthening of democratic accountability at european level trust in eu institutions rests on both input legitimacy ( the legitimacy of their mandate ) and output legitimacy ( the achievement of the objectives set in the mandate they have received ). concretely, this means citizens must be confident that eu institutions are democratically accountable. for the ecb, this means fulfilling its democratically assigned mandate of price stability. it also implies resisting the temptation to act in ways that are not compliant with this mandate. to give a few examples : it is within our mandate to provide liquidity to banks so that they can fund the economy, but it is not in our mandate to provide them with capital in place of their shareholders and investors. it is within our mandate to eliminate financial market distortions that hamper the effectiveness of our monetary policy, but it is not in our mandate to ensure the solvency of states or to aim at distributing wealth between countries in place of democratically elected governments. there is sometimes a thin line between these choices, which call for the monetary authorities to show judgement. hence, we need transparency and accountability vis - a - vis the general public and the european parliament. this takes the form of a monthly press conference, extensive reporting, public hearings in the european parliament and replies to meps ’ written questions. the governing council of the ecb will also be examining how it can enhance the transparency of its decision - making processes and how it could publish an account of its monetary policy discussions. this will also be the case for the new bank supervisory tasks

has been considerably enhanced and strengthened since 2008, its continued development should be ensured when necessary. we are ready to explore all options within our mandate to ensure we can continue to fulfil our responsibilities under the treaty, i. e. promoting the smooth operation of payment systems and ensuring the effective transmission of monetary policy, for which the stability of the centrally - cleared repo segment of euro money markets is crucial. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches ( ii ) technical innovation let me now turn to the second point. how the financial ecosystem is experiencing rapid change due to technical innovation. the eurosystem is responsible for operating two of the systems that form the backbone of financial markets in europe, namely target2, the real - time gross settlement system for the euro, and target2 - securities ( t2s ), a service for the integrated settlement in central bank money of securities transactions. the smooth operation of these services is crucial for maintaining confidence in the euro and to support monetary policy operations. furthermore, it plays a central role in ensuring the stability of the european financial system and in boosting economic activity. the eurosystem market infrastructure is designed to meet the highest levels of safety and efficiency. efficiency covers multiple dimensions : of course it means low costs for institutions that use the infrastructure, but it also implies the opportunity for them to benefit from a range of functionalities that bring added value to the services offered along the value chain. the eurosystem is continuously looking for ways to improve the efficiency and lower the costs of its market infrastructure. it also considers how best to respond and take advantage of technical innovation and meet new user needs, while staying ahead of evolving risks such as cyber risk. in this regard there is also a need to assess if technical innovation can create opportunities to improve financial services. nevertheless, a certain level of caution is needed when technological innovations are applied to financial markets. for innovations to be used in the financial system an essential requirement is that they are proven safe in order to avoid any negative consequences. consequently, if and when innovations are proven to enhance the provisions of financial services without harming safety, they should be explored. ecb working as a catalyst for market integration as a public authority the ecb will keep a watchful eye on technical innovations and assess their possible impact on financial markets. we do this work together with standard setting bodies. the first condition is that innovations are proven to be safe before they find their way into the market. second, it is equally important