needs to move towards a “ financial union ”, with a single euro area authority responsible for the supervision and resolution of large and complex cross - border banks. this authority should also be responsible for a euro area deposit insurance scheme. with bank resolution and deposit insurance funded primarily by private sector contributions, taxpayers would be shielded from picking up the bill for future banking crises. essentially, i envision an authority similar to the federal deposit insurance corporation in the united states. decisive and far - sighted reforms like these, unrealistic until a short while ago, are now gaining support. reacting to the pressure of events may seem unattractive, but it may also be the only way forward. as on other occasions in european history, this crisis offers a chance to progress ; we must be ready to act on it. let us not waste this opportunity to advance european integration. bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 2 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 3 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 4 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 5 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 6 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 7 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 8 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 9 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 10 bis central bankers ’ speeches slide 11 bis central bankers ’ speeches

benoit coeure : interview in delo interview with mr benoit coeure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in delo, conducted by mr miha jenko and published on 15 february 2014. * * * delo : mr cœure, your last visit to slovenia was in october 2012 when it hosted an ecb governing council meeting. how do you see developments in the country since then, over the last 16 months? benoit cœure : over the last 16 months, slovenia has been through a very difficult period, with many serious challenges both from an economic and also from a financial standpoint. the slovenian authorities have acknowledged and understood the challenges and have been addressing them in a systematic and serious way. the first appropriate and important steps have been taken, in particular when it comes to the restructuring of the banking sector. by completing the asset quality review and the stress tests they have reached a milestone, allowing for the restructuring of the banking system. but there remains a lot to be done. indeed, what else should be done? what are the tasks that still lie ahead? both the slovenian government and banka slovenije have a very good understanding of what has to be done. this relates to three key issues. the first is financial sector restructuring. this is well advanced. the asset quality review and the stress tests have been important and have been done in a serious and professional way, but this is only the first step. from now on you need a comprehensive reform of the banking system as part of a broader strategy for the entire economy. in this respect there are quite a few further steps to be taken. second, there is the fiscal dimension, where you need to bring down the fiscal deficit, but it is also very important to bring down the public debt. in this respect, slovenia must observe the recommendations issued by the european commission regarding the reduction of the structural deficit. this fiscal effort should be aimed towards a visible reduction in the debt level. and the third aspect is obviously economic reform and improving the efficiency of the economy. no other effort will be successful if the economy does not become more efficient. yes, the imf has also warned slovenia in its latest report about the risk of rapidly increasing public debt which could soon go beyond the hard - to - manage level of 85 %. what are the necessary steps to reduce this risk of unmanageable public debt and high interest rate costs? one of the key policy actions is privatisation,