i had underestimated three things. first, the range of cultural opportunities in the area. there are five opera houses within just 45 minutes of my flat : in wiesbaden, mainz, darmstadt and frankfurt. there are very few places in the world that can compete in this respect – perhaps new york, london and paris. second, the quality of what ’ s on offer is very high indeed. i was very impressed, for example, by the sculptures in the messerschmidt exhibition at the liebieghaus or the picasso theatre sets exhibited at the schirn. i hope that i will find time over the next few weeks to see the much - praised botticelli exhibition at the stadel. third, as i have said, people here are impressively cultivated, as i saw for myself when the ecb launched its own cultural days. focus : what are the highlights of your work as a central bank president so far? trichet : when economic and monetary union began, many were sceptical about whether it would be successful or even possible. as a representative of the french government, i negotiated the maastricht treaty with horst kohler, the current german president, who, like me, was then undersecretary of the treasury. those were very important and inspiring negotiations, and we became friends. i am proud that the euro is as trustworthy as the deutsche mark used to be. the promise we made to our fellow citizens that the new currency would be as solid and credible as the best national currencies has been kept. focus : what irritates you about germany? trichet : i deeply believe that the different european cultures complement each other. i was surprised at the beginning to see that any time a decision is taken in germany, all the arguments against the decision are meticulously listed, even if that decision has already been agreed in principle. at first i was surprised, because in many other cultures, all the arguments that support your conclusion are given strongly preferential treatment. focus : is that wrong? trichet : with time, i have seen that this german method is a good way of ruling out the possibility of serious mistakes. focus : has the fact that you have learnt german helped you? trichet : it certainly has. at the ecb, we mostly talk in english. but in the corridors you ’ re just as likely to hear german, french, italian or spanish, and many other languages besides. having

european central bank : press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank and mr lucas papademos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 2 october 2008. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council, which was also attended by commissioner almunia. on the basis of its regular economic and monetary analyses, at today ’ s meeting the governing council decided to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. we discussed extensively the recent intensification of the financial market turmoil and its possible impact on economic activity and inflation, recognising the extraordinarily high level of uncertainty stemming from latest developments. in this context, we stressed the crucial importance of keeping inflation expectations firmly anchored in line with our objective. price stability fosters an efficient allocation of resources, contains inflation risk premia and longer - term financing costs, and preserves the purchasing power of our currency. in so doing, it supports sustainable growth and employment and contributes to financial stability. the most recent data clearly confirm that economic activity in the euro area is weakening, with contracting domestic demand and tighter financing conditions. at the same time, annual inflation rates are likely to remain well above levels consistent with price stability for some time. with the weakening of demand, upside risks to price stability have diminished somewhat, but they have not disappeared. while the still strong underlying pace of monetary expansion points to upside risks to price stability over the medium term, the growth of broad money and credit aggregates is showing some further signs of moderation. it is imperative to avoid broadbased second - round effects in price and wage - setting. all parties concerned face exceptional challenges and are called upon to meet their responsibilities. accordingly, we confirm that we remain determined to secure price stability in the medium term and will continue to monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead. allow me to explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. when analysing current developments in economic activity, it needs to be stressed that we face an extraordinarily high degree of uncertainty, in large part stemming from the recent intensification of the financial market turmoil. this complicates any assessment of the near to medium - term economic prospects. as the world economy as a whole is feeling the adverse effects