an immense debt of gratitude. gratitude also to the leaders who maintained a steady hand during the 1990s in the run - up to the euro, in a very difficult environment. this anniversary is no time for complacency. but for continuous efforts, because the challenges lying ahead for monetary union will be numerous and demanding. as one of the major central banks in the industrialised world, we, like the others, have three challenges to cope with in our monetary policy - making : rapid technological progress, globalisation in all its dimensions, including the transformation of global finance, and population ageing. on top of those three major challenges, the ecb and the eurosystem have to cope with two other important, self - assigned challenges. the first is the deepening of economic and financial integration at continental level, the progressive completion of a single economy with a single currency ; we are the only central bank which is actively contributing to a major structural transformation of its own economy. the second is enlargement : we are called upon to extend progressively the euro area across the european union as a whole ; we are also the only central bank to undertake such an endeavour. economic union itself has its own challenges. i see three major challenges for the eurogroup, for the governments of the euro area and for the commission. the full and complete implementation of the stability and growth pact, which is a crucial component of emu in the absence of a european federal budget. the resolute pursuit of structural reforms in line with the lisbon process, which are decisive in order to raise the long - term growth potential of europe. and the lucid monitoring of the national competitive indicators, including unit labour costs. europe can count on the ecb and on the eurosystem to implement in this century the historic task which was assigned to us at the end of the last century. we will be faithful to the primary mandate given to us by the treaty. we know that our fellow citizens are asking us to deliver price stability. we know also that price stability is a prerequisite for financial stability, a very important objective at the current juncture. all the members of the governing council make their decisions taking into account the interests of the whole of the euro area, of 15 countries. we do not consider any particular country, but all 15 of them. and as i said, in the current juncture there is no place for complacency but for permanent credible alertness. 2. the ecb and

all these factors can contribute to higher inflation and lower growth, which can erode the purchasing power of households and businesses. as 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches we all know, such events are becoming more frequent in recent years. therefore, it is essential that we take concerted climate action to safeguard the future of our planet and its inhabitants. 14. the g20 countries have a major responsibility in providing leadership for global action on climate change and provision of climate finance, together with transfer of technology, to take this agenda forward. in dealing with weather related disasters, india has made noteworthy progress in its green transition agenda and capacity creation for efficient disaster management. sharing our experience with other g - 20 countries could open up scope for collaboration, in pursuit of the common goal of a greener global economy. 15. it is noteworthy that india is the highest ranked g20 country according to the climate change performance index3 2023 and is also the 5th best performing country globally. given that india is widely expected to remain as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, our energy demand could rise manifold. the challenge for us is twofold : one, to meet the projected increase in energy demand ; and two, to rapidly transition from fossil fuel to renewables. 16. climate proofing of our infrastructure has also been a priority, more so in view of the large investment in infrastructure in recent years. through global forums such as the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure ( cdri ) 4, india is providing leadership to global efforts for addressing these challenges. 17. we live in a world where the global macro - economic and financial outlook may become increasingly uncertain because of climate events, and only a committed global response with a spirit of collaboration can help mitigate the impending risk. in this context, the need for scaling up climate finance for mitigation and adaptation efforts in a balanced manner is well recognised if we were to meet the ambitious net zero targets. in this endeavor, multilateral development banks ( mdbs ) have an important role to play. they must evolve to meet the increasing demand for lending resources, provide knowledge support and catalyse private investment while continuing with their traditional roles of poverty reduction and achieving the sustainable development goals ( sdgs ). to address these issues, the g20 has set up an expert group to deliberate on strengthening the mdbs. 18. as i proceed to conclude, let me state that recent developments in the us banking system have brought to the fore the