on global growth and employment ”. will the ecb do as the bis suggests and give, to quote, “ a more measured monetary response ”? answer : the bis is merely reflecting the debate, particularly the academic debate. ex ante you are called on not to increase rates. ex post you are reproached for not having done that earlier. so, again, we will continue to do what is necessary. our responsibility is very clear : to ensure price stability and be credible in ensuring price stability. it is what the treaty itself and i would add that it is what our 313 million fellow citizens as well as investors and savers in europe and in the rest of the world are expecting from us. 23 ) so you are continuously as vigilant as a hawk seeking its prey? answer : i leave the responsibility for this metaphor to you. i would say the governing council is permanently alert. we have to be. in several speeches i have mentioned the concept of “ credible alertness ”. it is the mark of our institution to be constantly alert. we, as you might have noted, never pre - commit ourselves unconditionally to any particular course of action, whatever happens. we do what is necessary when it is necessary. 24 ) does the unwinding of the global imbalances such as the deficit on the us current account argue for a more measured monetary response? answer : the possible disorderly unwinding of global imbalances is calling for all partners concerned to do their homework. and that homework has been very well documented, particularly at the global level, at g7 meetings. 25 ) what can europe and the united states do? answer : europe should implement structural reforms to elevate the level of its growth potential. the continent has a lot to gain in doing that, growth, more prosperity and more job creation. the united states has to address its fiscal imbalances and deal with the issue of the low level of savings in the overall us economy, which is a major issue. and it is also true for japan and the rest of the world : we all have homework to do in order for the global imbalances to unwind in an orderly way. i think we have done a very good job in the past, and we will continue to do so. 26 ) has the risk of a disorderly global unwinding increased or decreased? answer : there has been and there is an important risk for a number of years.

jean - claude trichet : the times of unprecedented challenges address by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at the conference “ 20 years after the collapse of the socialist economy : transformation, economic growth and convergence in poland and other central and eastern european countries ”, organised by the national bank of poland, warsaw, 5 june 2009. * * * dear president kaczynski, dear president klaus, dear president skrzypek, dear joaquin, dear governors, ladies and gentlemen, we are celebrating today the 20th anniversary of poland ’ s first free elections after the second world war. this is a historic moment not only for poland but also for europe as a whole. without the courageous actions by the polish people at the time, this country might not be part of the european union today, and europe might even be still divided in east and west. by holding its first democratic elections two decades ago, poland – together with the other central and eastern european countries – had set the most important pre - accession requirement to join the european union in may 2004. it was a historic re - unification of europe after decades of division. today, the eu is a family of 27 members, 16 of which share the euro as a common currency. on the road to the eu : convergence and integration during the past two decades, poland has gone through a long and challenging process of transformation. the fruits of this process are clearly visible today. over the past 20 years polish gdp per capita more than tripled. in recent years poland has also made progress on the structural side, for instance, by improving labour market flexibility and by limiting the very costly early retirement schemes that were in place. at the same time, the adoption of an inflation targeting framework at the national bank of poland back in 1998 has been an important step towards bringing inflation down and closer to a level that is consistent with price stability. the catching - up process has been accompanied by a strong economic and financial integration with the eu. jacques delors – the former commission president – once defined the european integration as a triad : competition, which stimulates us, cooperation, which strengthens us, and solidarity which unites us. let me briefly spell out his words in today ’ s context. first, competition. the historic enlargement of the european union in 2004 has extended the border of our common internal market eastwards, thus unleashing the beneficial forces of competition in these countries whilst providing for a solid regulatory framework. polish