of non - standard steps, but we took them cautiously and always with a view to ensuring a better transmission of monetary policy. everybody knows as well that we are fiercely independent. the governing council has proved its independence through all its decisions and also through its firm and explicit messages to governments on all occasions. bis central bankers ’ speeches 15. president trichet, you will leave at the end of october after eight years as the head of the ecb. mario draghi, the governor of the banca d ’ italia, will replace you. how has the bank that you will pass on to him changed in recent years? do you have any tips to give him? mario draghi has been a wise and strong member of the governing council for many years. he knows the institution extremely well and, of course, was a party to all the decisions we have taken. what matters is the permanence of the institution. i am certain that mario draghi will ensure the institution ’ s continuity and credibility over the long term. bis central bankers ’ speeches

not our system. the discussions in the council and the executive board help us to meticulously evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a decision, especially when it is about something as important as large - scale bond purchases. bis central bankers ’ speeches mario draghi has already made it clear that a bond programme does not have to be agreed unanimously. but would it really be acceptable if such a fundamental step was agreed with a narrow majority? it would be possible and permissible, but not advisable. the more council members that agree, the surer i am that we have weighed all the pros and cons of a bond purchase programme properly and have minimised the risks. the verdict of the european court of justice on the earlier bond programme, the omt programme, is still outstanding ; this week the advocate general will make his recommendations. do you not fear legal constraints for bond purchases on a larger scale, as are currently being considered? we still don ’ t know how the court will decide. but the final opinion of the advocate general will give us a certain indication this week. in the end, it might be confirmed that bond purchases in the secondary market are legal. but economically, they have an effect similar, in many respects, to a prohibited direct monetary financing of governments by means of the printing press. if that is supposed to be unproblematic, do you then find the whole prohibition redundant? this prohibition might be less important if we had a fiscal union with a common fiscal policy. but as long as that is not the case, the ecb must be prevented from being dominated by the ministers of finance. that is why we need this treaty article, to protect the independence of the central bank. will it necessarily come to this fiscal union sooner or later? of course, a fiscal union would make life easier for us as a central bank. but a fiscal union must have democratic legitimacy and be subject to adequate parliamentary control. it doesn ’ t exactly appear to be likely at the moment. could the euro survive as a “ currency without a state ” in the long run? the euro can certainly survive. but the system would always be fragile. we would have to get used to there can always be crises in one country with contagion in others. if we want to make progress, we need a common economic policy that also covers the field of structural reform. bis central bankers ’ speeches