benoit cœure : interview in risk magazine interview with mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank and chairman of the committee on payments and market infrastructures ( cpmi ), in risk magazine, conducted by ms cecile sourbes on 10 may and published on 19 may 2016. * * * what was the outcome of the questionnaires that the cpmi and the international organization of securities commissions ( iosco ) sent to central counterparties ( ccps ) in 2015? the work done by cpmi - iosco is a response to the request made by the g20 ministers and governors to ensure that ccps are safe and resilient. the work done on risk in ccps has been set as a priority this year by the chinese presidency of the g20. risk in ccps is an important piece, and maybe even the main missing piece, of the post - pittsburgh regulatory agenda. a great deal of work has been done to make the derivatives market safer, make central clearing mandatory and improve the resilience of infrastructures – in particular through the implementation of the cpmi - iosco principles for financial market infrastructures ( pfmi ). now, it ’ s time to wrap it up, take stock of what has actually been done and consider whether this is enough or whether we need to do more. so it ’ s an important milestone. to answer your question, yes, cpmi - iosco sent a series of questionnaires to several ccps last year which covered both recovery planning and risk management practices more generally. it was a way to assess their compliance with the pfmi and the recovery guidance released in 2014 by cpmi - iosco. we have looked at the responses in depth and this has given us a good insight into how ccps have implemented the pfmi. we are now taking stock of this material and we are also working with the financial stability board ( fsb ). the outcome of this work will appear in two “ twin ” reports that will be published in early summer, presumably in july. those reports will come right in time for the g20 summit in hangzhou on 4 and 5 september. are there any areas that require further guidance? the first report will review the implementation of the pfmi across 10 derivatives ccps. we are very positive about the work that has been conducted by ccps, but we ’ ve identified shortcomings when it comes to addressing certain topics,

area what the rationale for the historic process of establishing a highly integrated european union is. all in all, that process has proceeded remarkably successfully for more than half a century now. zeit : so, what is its rationale? trichet : european integration is essential for ensuring the peace, stability and prosperity of the nations of europe. all of the reasons we had to engage in this historic endeavour after the second world war are still valid. the balance of power is shifting at the global level. new powers are on the rise in asia, latin america and africa. we are experiencing a very rapidly changing new world with a lot of opportunities, challenges, risks and uncertainties. european unity is more important than ever. zeit : what role does germany play in that? trichet : germany played a decisive role in the establishment of the treaty of rome in 1958, the single european act in 1986 and, in particular, monetary union. germany has also bis central bankers ’ speeches succeeded remarkably well in regaining its competitiveness over the last ten years. your country is now reaping the rewards of its patient efforts, and the euro area is benefiting from this. a strong german economy is good for europe. zeit : in germany, of all places, eurosceptic voices are now being heard. are the germans even ready for europe? trichet : i travel a lot in germany, and my impression is that while the initial reaction may be sceptical, deeper down everybody is aware of the importance of our historic project, aware of the importance of close cooperation and friendship between the nations of europe. i believe people know that there is no other way of achieving peace, prosperity and stability. zeit : even germans are feeling anxious – they have the impression that monetary union is no longer what they were promised. rules were broken. people are apprehensive that the euro will become a soft currency. trichet : there are many ways of seeing things in a democracy. concerns like these were voiced even when i was involved in negotiating the treaty of maastricht with theo waigel, the minister of finance, horst kohler, staatssekretar, and the other members of the german delegation. but the facts are much more important. for instance, it was unfortunately germany and france which weakened the stability and growth pact in 2004 and 2005. it ’ s also a fact that price stability is greater today than during the period of the deutsche mark. the average