mugur isarescu : introductory speech - ceps ideas lab : europe's choice conference introductory speech by mr mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the centre for european policy studies ( ceps ) ideas lab - europe's choice conference, brussels, 21 february 2019. * * * chairman almunia, first vice president timmermans, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege for me to attend the annual meetings of centre for european policy studies, at a momentous time for the union. surely, the elections for the european parliament are on my mind as well, but not exclusively. as the topic of this year ’ s meeting amply suggests, we, as eu citizens, need to make the right choices so that the future of the union continues the project that has always fostered peace and economic reconstruction after the second world war. it is the same project that has helped central eastern european countries “ return to europe ” after the fall of the berlin wall. centre for european policy studies is a great scene for discussing the huge challenges our union is facing at the moment. it brings together high officials from eu institutions and national governments, academics and representatives of the civil society and business circles. i speak not only on behalf of the central bank of romania, but also as a representative of a country that holds the rotating presidency of the eu council. i trust that we will be able to fulfill our mandate and advance projects of substance for the union. let me focus in the minutes i have at my disposal on several economic issues. our debate is so more important for it takes place at a time of some economic slowdown all over europe and of an erosion of multilateralism, of spreading trade conflicts. the prospect of a hard brexit is very annoying for all of us and i still very much hope that such a denouement would be avoided. likewise, it is high time to strike a deal on the multiannual financial framework so that the great challenges the union is facing ( protection of borders, cyber fare, climate change, conflicts in near and more remote neighborhoods, etc. ) find proper conciliation with the need to preserve the cohesion of the union and avoid further fragmentation. i also trust that eu leaders will find the right balance to address key institutional and policy related weaknesses of the euro area. i mention this, for romania, like other non - member states, is bound by eu accession treaties to join the single

ardian fullani : overview of albania ’ s latest economic and financial developments speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, on the monetary policy decision - making of the bank of albania ’ s supervisory council, tirana, 27 march 2013. * * * today, on 27 march 2013, the supervisory council of the bank of albania reviewed and approved the monthly monetary policy report. based on the most recent monetary and economic developments in albania, and following the discussions on their outlook, the supervisory council of the bank of albania decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged, at 3. 75 %. the council notes that there are appropriate monetary conditions to ensure the achievement of the inflation target in the medium - term period, providing, at the same time, the required monetary stimulus to boost economic activity. let me now proceed with an overview of the economic developments and key issues discussed at today ’ s meeting. * * * annual inflation was 2. 5 % in february, down by 0. 2 percentage points from january. the lower inflation was primarily driven by the falling oil price, due to the base effect of the environmental tax rise in 2012 and the falling global prices. overall, inflation continues to be determined by the rise in food prices. their inflation accounted for about 90 % of february ’ s headline inflation. other basket prices have generally been stable and making low contribution to headline inflation. in the macroeconomic aspect, the general economic and monetary conditions have contributed to keeping inflation low. aggregate demand, in particular, remains sluggish and insufficient to generate full utilisation of production capacities, hence exerting no pressures on producer prices, profit margins and, consequently, the final prices of goods and services. as we have constantly pointed out, below - potential economic growth is and will remain a key factor driving the low inflation. in parallel, global prices, liquidity situation in the albanian economy and financial markets, and economic agents ’ inflation expectations have not and are not expected to generate strong inflation pressures in the medium - term period. indirect information on the performance of the albanian economic activity in the last quarter of 2012 suggests sluggish growth. aggregate demand was primarily driven by the higher exports, while the private domestic demand provided positive, albeit low, contribution. on the other hand, public sector expenditure shrank, hence making a negative contribution to the growth of aggregate demand. there is scarce information on economic developments during the first quarter of 2013. however, the analysis of available indirect data