had and have to say was perhaps often predictable, but more often than not your saying it lent it weight and inspired confidence. moreover, what you once aptly said is absolutely true : “ man kann schone sonntagsreden halten. die entscheidungen fallen an werktagen. ” you are known to be a hard worker - some would even say a workaholic and you have tremendous “ ausdauer ”. you never get tired of putting your analysis and convictions across, as has again been demonstrated tonight. we owe you a great deal of gratitude. after august we central bankers will miss you as a colleague, although i believe we have internalised your basic principles. they will therefore still be around as if you are still present yourself. and should we tend to forget them, i am sure that ernst welteke will help me to remind other colleagues of them. sometimes, i wish that we could do the same as they do in the world of sport in the united states. there, when an outstanding player retires, in order to honour him the number he wears on the back of his shirt is never again used by another player. central bankers do not wear shirts with numbers on the back, but if we did, i am sure that we would withdraw your number. retirement is the natural end of one ’ s career, but it should not be overdramatised. people do matter - and you have certainly shown that - but institutions generally outlast them. in fact, that is what many people work for. luckily, i am convinced that this is the case in central banking. so, the institutions that you have worked to build will go on. meanwhile, as i look ahead to august, i know that while i will lose a colleague, i will still have the same friend. i know that is true for many of us here this evening. i should therefore like to close by simply expressing my thanks for your support over the years both as a colleague and a friend.

by domestic demand, but also reflects some temporary factors. recent statistical releases and survey evidence generally confirm our expectation of a moderation in the second half of this year in the euro area. therefore, we do not declare victory and we have to remain cautious and prudent. that being said, the positive but modest underlying momentum of the recovery remains in place. annual inflation in the euro area is currently 1. 8 %, and we expect inflation to remain moderate in 2011. very importantly, we note that inflation expectations over the medium to longer term continue to be firmly anchored in line with our definition of price stability. as all developed economies, europe has experienced a period of unprecedented turbulence in the last three years. as regards the policy response of the executive branches, the eu and the euro area do not take decisions in the same way as a fully fledged political federation like the united states. decision making processes are of a different nature and certainly more difficult to decipher by external observers. that said, the trend over the last three years has been that, when faced with new challenges, the euro area has found solutions. this was the case in the rescue of the financial sector in 2008, when no systemically important institution failed in europe and no economic support package was refused by any of the numerous parliaments. that was also the case earlier this year in the support for greece and the establishment of the new stability facility. if i were to draw a tentative lesson from this period, it would be that there is a high level of resolve in the euro area to engage in the decisions and the reforms that are necessary to preserve and consolidate the functioning of the economic and monetary union. looking ahead, i see two trends that support this view. prioritising fiscal sustainability the first trend is a general recognition among euro area countries of the need to prioritise fiscal sustainability. the governments of all euro area countries have committed to fiscal consolidation, although implementation is more advanced in some cases than in others. in many countries, implementation is already bearing fruit. the imf currently projects the aggregate fiscal deficit for the euro area next year to be 5. 1 % of gdp – compared with 9. 7 % of gdp in the united states, 8. 1 % of gdp in the united kingdom and 8. 9 % of gdp in japan. i am confident that this trend towards fiscal sustainability will continue. euro area countries are demonstrating their commitment to a sustainable path by taking action towards consolidation that is necessary and in their own