economy recovers and spending shifts further towards tradables. finally, monetary policy should exert less of a drag on demand over time. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the unemployment rate is at its lowest level since the start of the euro. at the same time, the tightness in the labour market continues to gradually decline, with employers posting fewer job vacancies. governments should continue to roll back energy - related support measures so that disinflation can proceed sustainably. implementing the eu's revised economic governance framework fully and without delay will help governments bring down budget deficits and debt ratios on a sustained basis. national fiscal and structural policies should be aimed at making the economy more productive and competitive, which would help to reduce price pressures in the medium term. at the european level, an effective and speedy implementation of the next generation eu programme and a strengthening of the single market would help foster innovation and increase investment in the green and digital transitions. more determined and concrete efforts to complete the banking union and the capital markets union would help mobilise the massive private investment necessary to achieve this, as the governing council stressed in its statement of 7 march 2024. inflation inflation has continued to decline, from an annual rate of 2. 6 per cent in february to 2. 4 per cent in march, according to eurostat's flash estimate. food price inflation dropped to 2. 7 per cent in march, from 3. 9 per cent in february, while energy price inflation stood at - 1. 8 per cent in march, after - 3. 7 per cent in the previous month. goods price inflation fell again in march, to 1. 1 per cent, from 1. 6 per cent in february. however, services price inflation remained high in march, at 4. 0 per cent. most measures of underlying inflation fell further in february, confirming the picture of gradually diminishing price pressures. while domestic inflation remains high, wages and unit profits grew less strongly than anticipated in the last quarter of 2023, but unit labour costs remained high, in part reflecting weak productivity growth. more recent indicators point to further moderation in wage growth. inflation is expected to fluctuate around current levels in the coming months and to then decline to our target next year, owing to weaker growth in labour costs, the unfolding effects of our restrictive monetary policy, and the fading impact of the energy crisis and the pandemic. measures of longer - term inflation expectations remain broadly

esm. fourth, appropriate safeguards to mitigate reputational risks – for both the supervisor and the monetary policy maker – are needed. it is therefore critical to implement an actual internal separation between supervisory and monetary functions, that should also be coupled with an external dimension, reinforcing the outside perception of such clear operational and accountability separation. the chair of the supervisory board is responsible for discharging the accountability duties towards the european authorities ( european parliament, finance ministers of participating member states, the european commission ). they may also, on occasion, be asked to report to national parliaments. more regularly, the representatives of the national competent authorities will perform such a role at the domestic level. the single resolution mechanism let me now turn to the establishment of a single resolution mechanism ( srm ), which constitutes the second pillar of the banking union and is a necessary complement to the ssm. it is crucial that the srm is in place once the ssm is operational. there would otherwise be a danger of creating potential conflicts between supervisory and central bank perspectives. it would be a misunderstanding to believe that there will be no more troubles at banks as soon as responsibility for banking supervision is conferred to the ecb. on the contrary, non - viable banks will have to be closed down and resolved in order to prevent the “ zombification ” of the european banking sector. the viable parts of certain banks may nevertheless require transitional funding – which should not be mistaken for a bail - out. a single resolution mechanism is hence an essential condition. it will ensure timely and impartial decision - making focused on the european dimension and that resolution costs are borne by the private sector, thus putting an end to the expectation that taxpayers will foot the bill. the era in which the privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses was possible should belong to the past. the srm should be equipped with a comprehensive set of enforceable tools and powers to resolve all banks participating in the ssm. this mechanism should under no circumstances be placed with the ecb, in order to nip any potential conflicts of objectives in the bud. however, the flow of information to the ssm must be safeguarded. this calls for urgent adoption of the bank recovery and resolution directive that will provide a harmonised toolkit across the eu. the srm should have control of and access to a european resolution fund for resolution financing. this fund should be funded by ex ante risk - based levies on the industry