the region here. in this regard, the recovery of the economic situation in the euro area is good news for montenegro and the western balkans generally. links will grow as a result of the banking union which is being established in the eu. the new institutional set - up involves new responsibilities for the ecb, which became the banking supervisor of the entire euro area last november. the establishment of this single supervisory mechanism consolidates our relationship with the western balkans in view of the ownership structure of the banking sector. the ecb will at the same time become the home supervisor of a large part of the banking sector in montenegro and other countries in the region. the main reason, however, for our focus on the countries in the western balkans and their central banks is the prospect of eu membership. for one, the eu central banking community considers it important to support its sister institutions in this region as they seek to apply best practices for the benefit of their country and their people. this is also in the interests of all eu central banks as one day the central bank of montenegro will join the european system of central banks and, at that time, will need to meet all relevant standards and be able to function properly within the system. moreover, strong, stable and independent institutions are a prerequisite for sound macroeconomic policies and financial stability, which in turn are a condition for sustainable convergence. this is in the interests of montenegro but, again, also in the interests of the euro area and the rest of the eu. joining the european union and eventually the euro area is not an end in itself. they are a means to an end, namely to enhance the welfare of the member states and their citizens. in this regard, one of the key lessons of the recent crisis in the euro area is that in order to benefit from membership, countries need to achieve sustainable convergence. convergence must not only be reached in the run - up to joining. to sustain it requires constant policy efforts in the areas of fiscal, financial and, in particular, structural policies. bis central bankers ’ speeches pursuing growth - promoting structural reforms while maintaining financial stability and fiscal sustainability need to be key policy priorities for economic policy - makers in this context. this applies both prior to and after eu accession. the best contribution central banks can make is to ensure price stability and to remain focused on their mandate, while having a sound institutional framework that ensures their independence. there is one point that i would like to mention which makes the central bank of montenegro a special case

makers, to be able to get their act together whenever something bad happens to the eurozone. and yes, the risk today is not that much political risk in individual countries. it ’ s a risk that the ministers, eurogroup, will not find the strength to unite, to put their heads together and act as one, if anything bad happens to the eurozone. so that ’ s a concern. the only answer is to -, step by step to make the eurozone stronger, and to create this sense of commonality, a sense of the need for common action. we are very divided, the eurozone is very divided at this moment, and there ’ s obviously elections this year. do you worry about a lost year? i wouldn ’ t say the eurozone is divided. it ’ s just a risk of being too inward looking. do you worry about a lost year, in terms of policy? it ’ s not a lost year, i mean, there are reforms in countries, reforms are continuing in different countries, but certainly there is a need to take a step to make the eurozone significantly stronger. at some point there will be a need for a quantum leap into making the eurozone more united, stronger, but that ’ s not going to happen this year. or next year, or the year after, because no one wants that anymore. the voters don ’ t want that anymore. well, the burden of proof is on us. it ’ s on european institutions. the burden of proof cannot be on voters, that ’ s not how democracies work. let ’ s talk about brexit. the president of the eurogroup said yesterday that the uk ’ s looking at massive unemployment, and that it will go back to the 1970s. i am not going to comment on the economic consequences of brexit. what we are really focused on, and we are very close to the bank of england, we are exchanging views, sharing notes with the bank of england. they know what will be the consequences, so i will entirely defer to mark carney to pass that kind of judgment, and i fully trust him. what we start considering is the structural consequences of brexit. how is that going to impact the landscape for financial services? the infrastructures that we need in the eurozone to create growth, etc. it ’ s probably too early to tell, but it ’ s shaping up, i would say, so we have to start