transform the global economy the current pandemic provides a prime opportunity to build a more resilient future and make the changes towards what we want to see, namely a greener, more digital and more inclusive global economy. we welcome the plans to further integrate climate change - related issues into imf surveillance. at the ecb, in the area of banking supervision, we published a guide on climaterelated and environmental risks in november 2020 to explain how we expect banks to prudently manage and transparently disclose these risks under current prudential rules. we have asked banks to conduct self - assessments in the light of the guide and to draw up action plans on that basis. then, next year, we will conduct a full supervisory review of banks ’ practices. as part of our ongoing monetary policy strategy review, we will examine the risks posed by climate change and how they feed into the monetary policy framework. in a similar vein, the international community has to continue to work together to enhance cross - border payment systems to make them faster, cheaper and more inclusive, and to address the opportunities and challenges of the digitalisation of finance. at the ecb, discussions are ongoing on whether to issue a digital euro to make our currency fit for the digital age, as a complement to, not a replacement for, cash. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

credible euro adoption strategy helps stabilising the economies, as it provides an important anchor for policymakers. as already mentioned before, a credible strategy requires in particular responsible macroeconomic policies and advancements in structural reforms. one essential element of the countries ’ euro adoption strategies relates to the credibility of timetables. at the time of eu accession most countries had announced to join the euro area as soon as possible. we all know that this was based on assumptions at the time of the accession. the recent financial crisis has impacted the convergence progress and has moved the euro adoption further into the future. therefore, individual countries ’ timetables have to be carefully looked at and adjustments may be necessary. let me emphasise that an overly ambitious timetable for adopting the euro can be rather costly for the country concerned. this may encourage market participants to pursue strategies which may prove to be risky if the timetable turns out not to be achievable. we observed this in some cee countries, which for example allowed the emergence of unsustainable credit growth and a large share of loans denominated in euro. a look beyond the eu borders the financial crisis also took its toll outside eu borders. many non - eu emerging european economies, including eu candidate and potential candidate countries, recorded a strong fall in external and domestic demand, amid mounting concerns over financial stability and increased uncertainty about the availability of external financing. while policymakers in these countries currently focus rather on the entry into the eu and not on euro adoption, the need for sustainable convergence is still high on their agenda. overall, non - eu emerging european economies are in the early stages of catching - up in income levels with those of the eu. ensuring a smooth process of real and nominal convergence is therefore a key priority in the region. moreover, the risks of boom - bust cycles in credit or asset prices have been amply illustrated by the recent developments, whereby countries with sounder fundamentals were generally less affected by the crisis. rapid and determined international policy actions, including support from european institutions via macro - financial assistance ( mfa ) and instrument for pre - accession assistance ( ipa ) funds have contributed to bringing confidence back. moreover, i have to mention an issue of relevance for some economies in the region, namely the official, unilateral use of the euro. as you all know, unilateral euroisation is not in line with the provisions of the treaty. and as the recent intensive financial pressures experienced by the unilaterally euroised