built, all governors will remain equally involved in future monetary policy decisions. however, they may not all have a vote at the same time. moreover, the participation of ncb - governors will continue to offer checks and balances and enhance the quality of decision - making. let me turn to the guiding principle of subsidiarity. clearly, the principle implies that, to a large extent, the spokes of the system take care of both inputs and outputs. given the heterogeneity of the euro area, this bottom - up approach to system tasks makes sense. thus, in dealing with economic, structural, or even linguistic differences and national preferences, the spokes are better positioned in the operation of monetary policy. the same goes for managing payment systems or the collection of statistics – tasks that i will leave aside for the moment. moreover, governors and their respective central banks bring in specific local knowledge and enhance healthy competition within the system – for example in the area of research. of course, as explained, we should be conscious of potential trade - offs between subsidiarity and the guiding principle of efficiency. as such, there is no denying that efficiency gains can be achieved in the production and distribution of banknotes. we need to pursue these possibilities. financial stability and banking supervision – national tasks of ncbs this brings me to the central bank tasks that fall outside the exclusive domain of the european system of central banks. for the dutch central bank, these tasks take up around half of its staff and relate to international financial relations, advising the government, financial stability and banking supervision. under the subsidiarity principle, these responsibilities lie close to the sovereignty of the nation state. nevertheless, there are clear links and synergies with the tasks of the european system of central banks – which, in fact, is an important reason for national central banks having these tasks. let me limit myself here to financial stability and supervision – given their importance in recent european discussions. according to the treaty, the european system of central banks as a whole shall contribute to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by competent authorities in the field of prudential supervision and financial stability. the collective responsibility to contribute to these policies follows from the financial stability task of the national central banks. this involvement in financial stability is a natural reflection of other tasks, including monetary policy, payment systems and – to varying extent – banking supervision. monetary policy relies on financial stability in order to be effective. in addition, in exercising oversight

euro is very popular and i think that assessment by the european population is correct. it is a very good invention for europe and i think for all of us in the euro area we should be proud of our common currency. one personal question. you are an academic, how do you see your new position now as chief economist? your position is very important in the ecb. so i think monetary economics, central banking is very closely connected to academia. one of the reasons the bank of finland is having this conference today is to recognise the importance of interaction between central bank officials like myself and university professors and students. this is an area where i ’ ve said in the speech the ecb has to be a learning organisation, we have to learn from our own research, from the university sector, from other central banks. so actually i think this is an area where i feel coming from a university background helps me in my current job. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches