that provide further support to improve market liquidity in important segments of the private debt security market. yesterday, we decided on the implementation of the programme for purchases of eurodenominated covered bonds issued in the euro area. the decision to buy covered bonds was motivated from the fact that these bonds are a segment of the private securities markets that has been particularly affected by the financial turmoil. we trust that all these measures will continue to contribute to restoring and fostering confidence among banks, companies and households. confidence today relies equally upon our immediate agility of action and upon the soundness and credibility of our exit strategy. once the macroeconomic environment improves, the governing council will ensure that the measures taken can be quickly unwound and the liquidity provided absorbed. hence, any threat to price stability over the medium and longer term will be effectively countered in a timely fashion. i observe, in particular, that the concentration of our non - standard measures on the supply of liquidity, with full allotment, to banks, provides for an in - built exit strategy. that is, when tensions in financial markets ease, banks will automatically seek less credit from the ecb. this will be a decisive element in ensuring a non - inflationary recovery in the euro area. conclusions let me conclude. this is a time of unprecedented uncertainty and challenges. we all have to live up to our responsibility. we have to respond forcefully to the challenge, but we should never forget the principles for sound macro - economic policy making that are at the heart of the european union. the people of poland know what it means to go through times of unprecedented uncertainty and challenges. their courage and their determination, which we celebrate today, is a reminder of how to cope with challenging situations. we are looking forward to overcoming this crisis. the ecb ’ s commitment to maintaining price stability over the medium term, as laid down in the treaty, will contribute to paving the way for future sustainable growth, job creation and economic prosperity in all member states. thank you for your attention.

, the commission put forward plans to accelerate payments under the european social fund for an amount of eur 19 billion in 2009 - 2010 alone, an important part of which [ ( 35 % ) ] is destined for central and eastern european countries. together with the liquidity provisions extended by the ecb to a number of countries, the total amount of funds earmarked by the eu to its members and neighbours to tackle the crisis exceeds eur 70 billion. it is indeed quite natural for the eu to exercise its solidarity in these days. it is solidarity that makes us a community and a union, not just a market. but solidarity is not a panacea. it is no substitute for sound macroeconomic policies and structural reforms. in fact, the crisis has highlighted once again the importance of a solid structural economic foundation for sustainable growth. in this respect, it is striking to see how different the impact of the global financial crisis has been across individual countries, both in terms of financial market responses and with respect to real economic activity. the fact that the impact of the global financial crisis has been considerably less pronounced in poland as compared to its regional peers, might have various reasons. the most important one, in my view, is that poland has built - up less of macroeconomic imbalances and that it has implemented a set of policies and reforms that have overall been appropriate in recent years. in contrast, some other countries had accumulated large domestic and external imbalances, and these made them vulnerable to changes in international investor sentiment. larger current account deficits imply a greater reliance on external finance and thus a larger sensitivity to a disruption in cross - border capital flows. sound macroeconomic policies are therefore not only prerequisites for a successful participation in the economic and monetary union, but they are also necessary for the catching - up process to operate smoothly. it is after the elimination of major macroeconomic imbalances and when sufficient convergence has been achieved, that countries can expect to reap the full benefits of euro area membership. the ecb ’ s response to the financial crises the experience of the past year and a half bears testimony that the euro has continued to be an anchor of stability in times of stress. let me explain to you why this is so. the financial turmoil crystallises two principal tenets behind our monetary policy strategy : swift and flexible action guided by a steady and unwavering compass. from the onset of the crisis in august 2007 we were determined to do what was needed