a way to access public money in the digital sphere? or, to paraphrase ecb president christine lagarde, " don't we all need to have access to public money in the digital age? ". before i give you my answer to this question, let me briefly touch upon the question of the risks of introducing the digital euro and the potential downsides of its deployment. risks first, and this is something central bankers are concerned with the most - the potential of the digital euro for disintermediation. the story goes like this : if we deprive banks of their funding sources in the form of deposits and people then move those deposits with us instead, aren't we going to destabilise the system, suppress credit activity and eventually cause the decline of the economic activity? the ecb and the central banks first identified this risk in 2020, and now we believe there is a solution to it. with the right design of the digital euro that places a limit on the amount of digital euro per holder, we can successfully mitigate that risk and not allow the digital euro to become a source of instability. another risk is a potential for market distortion that lies in the introduction of the digital euro when a public institution enters the private market, disrupts it and even competes with both current and future market participants. why do that when we already have an innovative and well - functioning payment system in the eu? and isn't it that the markets always do things better and more efficiently driven by the invisible hand, with the regulators'task being only to level the playing field by providing an adequate legal framework? the answer here is that the digital euro payment infrastructure will coexist with the current one and offer an additional option. in a growing market for electronic payment, there is room for such a new solution with previously mentioned built - in limits. at the same time, private sector participants will continue to play a key role in developing digital euro functionalities. the role of central banks will be to provide basic back - end infrastructure while everything else will be left to the industry to find the best solutions and innovate. and the third risk is connected with the international dimension of the digital euro. here, in general, every cbdc at first seems like a win - win solution. the current system of international retail payments is full of friction. it is slow, expensive and opaque, and the cbdc could play a significant role here to make it cheaper,

and negotiating skills. a historian berkovi documented that " dubrovnik entered into numerous international political and trade relations [ and was ] able to utilize [ this ] wisely and skilfully in the defense of [ its ] independence, sovereignty and economic growth ". and as a central banker of a country that has recently joined the euro area, five months ago, i must say that this is also not the first time we use hard currency here. dubrovnik had a mint, called zecca, from 14th to 19th century that minted its own much appreciated and sought after currency. to conclude, old dubrovnik based its prosperity on openness and trade, while at the same time building its resilience through smart and prudent economic, fiscal and development policies. this multifaceted strategy cannot be a better lesson against the backdrop of today's challenges. with this historical hindsight, i wish all of us productive and fruitful discussions and i am happy to give the floor to the managing director of the imf, ms kristalina georgieva. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches