radovan jelasic : social responsibility in serbia and the un “ global compact ” initiative speech by mr radovan jelasic, governor of the national bank of serbia, at the launch of the united nations global compact initiative ( ungc ) in serbia, belgrade, 6 december 2007. * * * ladies and gentlemen, when did you last visit a hospital that cares for children with mental health disorders? where did you throw the glass bottle after you drank your juice yesterday? is the building you live in accessible to physically handicapped people? have you ever been to the area where roma people live under the gazela bridge? and, at risk of sounding sarcastic, have you convinced yourself again today that all problems in this country should be dealt with by the government and that you have the right to criticize that same government to your heart ’ s desire? do you think that you as an ordinary citizen have some kind of responsibility for all those events taking place outside your micro cosmos? when was the last time you walked down knez mihajlova street looking up to read the names of legacy donors and asked yourself how we compare to them? have you shaken hands, opened the door, smiled or simply been nice to anybody today? what will our country look like in five or ten years time depends only on us and nobody else. if anyone should make our country more beautiful, it should be us, you and me, and we do not and can not have any excuse not to do something. you and i are those who not only have the opportunity but an obligation as well. we have the good will, and as company managers, some money on our hands too. so “ let serbia rise ” as dositej said, but not against somebody or something, but for a more beautiful, smiling and, above all else, happier serbia. if you are an enterprise that feels the need to do something more than just pay taxes regularly, which is of course necessary but not enough, then you are in the right place today! we have gathered here today to meet and to get to know one another, to unite people and companies who care, who know how and are willing to do more to better not only their own lives, but also the lives of all the people in our country. as a start, a big step forward will have been made if we who have gathered here today were to unite as people of good will who feel the need to do something more, something better, and

inflation rates exhibited considerable volatility over the year, mainly as a result of developments in energy prices. overall, labour costs increased moderately and contributed to containing domestic inflationary pressures in the euro area, although the situation varied greatly from country to country. despite significant inflationary shocks in 2006, and the fact that headline inflation was above 2 % throughout most of the year, longer - term inflation expectations remained anchored to price stability. nevertheless, risks to price stability remained clearly on the upside throughout 2006, on the basis of the ecb ’ s economic and monetary analyses. in addition to the possibility of further oil price increases, several other risks were identified. these included : the risk of stronger - than - anticipated pass - through of past rises in oil prices ; additional increases in administered prices and indirect taxes beyond those already announced ; and, more fundamentally, the prospect of stronger - than - expected wage developments and potential second - round effects in wage and price - setting behaviour. the monetary analysis confirmed, by cross - checking, the assessment of upside risks to price stability. money and credit growth remained very robust during 2006, mainly reflecting the stimulative effects of the low level of interest rates and the strength of economic activity. the persistent underlying rate of monetary expansion since mid - 2004 has resulted in the accumulation of a stock of liquidity which is ample by all plausible measures. a broad - based and comprehensive analysis of these developments pointed to upside risks to price stability over the medium to longer term. to address the upside risks to price stability, the ecb ’ s governing council adjusted the monetary policy stance in 2006 by raising the key ecb interest rates gradually by a total of 125 basis points, reaching the level of 3. 50 % by december 2006. on 8 march 2007 the governing council decided to raise rates by another 25 basis points because it assessed that upside risks to price stability continued to prevail. the information which has become available since the last meeting of the governing council has lent further support to the reasoning behind the decision to raise rates in march. it has also confirmed that risks to the medium - term outlook for price stability remain on the upside. in addition to potential further oil price increases, these risks relate primarily to stronger than currently expected wage developments in an environment of robust growth in employment and activity. in order to sustain robust economic growth and foster job creation, wage agreements should take into account productivity developments as well as the price competitiveness positions and the prevailing high level of unemployment in many economies