retail payment system is the natural complement to the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins and it is a necessary step towards the further integration of the retail payment market. the aim of the sepa project is to enable customers to make more efficient cashless payments throughout the euro area from a single account, irrespective of their location. sepa will, in particular, define the technical standards and access conditions to the market. by creating a level playing - field, sepa will ensure that participants are treated equally. this special feature concludes that, while the banking industry has made substantial progress towards a more integrated retail payment market, committing itself to introducing sepa instruments and procedures from january 2008 and to migrating a critical mass of its customer payments by end - 2010, some issues, such as transparency and interoperability, still need to be finalised. ii. 3 eurosystem activities for financial integration the report ’ s third chapter, “ eurosystem activities for financial integration ”, provides an overview of the main eurosystem activities in 2006. this chapter shows that the ecb and the whole eurosystem contribute in a number of ways to financial integration and development, building on their expertise and special nature as public institutions which are both active in the market and have intense relationships with market participants. we generally distinguish four activities in this contribution : ( i ) giving advice on the legislative and regulatory framework for the financial system and direct rule - making ; ( ii ) acting as a catalyst for private sector activities ; ( iii ) enhancing knowledge, raising awareness and monitoring the state of european financial integration ; and ( iv ) providing central bank services that also foster european financial integration. i will now provide an example of each of these four activities. with respect to the shaping of the financial system ’ s legislative and regulatory framework, i would like to mention, as an example, the eu securities clearing and settlement infrastructure. its current fragmentation represents a major obstacle to the further integration of european securities markets. greater integration of securities clearing and settlement systems will be crucial to lowering the posttrading costs of cross - border securities transactions, to exploiting the potential economies of scale and to establishing a european level playing - field. moreover, the clearing and settlement infrastructure directly affects the performance of the major tasks of the ecb, pertaining to the implementation of its monetary policy via the framework for the collateralisation of monetary policy ( and intraday credit ) operations, the safeguarding of financial stability and the promotion of the smooth operation

benoit cœure : exchange of views on the ecb ’ s role in the troika remarks by mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the ecb, before the economic and monetary affairs committee, brussels, 13 february 2014. * * * madam chair, honourable members, let me first of all thank you for your invitation to this exchange of views. the adjustment programmes implemented in recent years in several euro area member states were an unprecedented answer to an unprecedented crisis. this crisis has affected the lives of millions of eu citizens – hence it is only natural that you, as their directly elected representatives, assess what has happened. this crisis has revealed major shortcomings, mainly in domestic economic policies, but also in the architecture of emu – thus the european parliament as an institution with a truly european perspective is an appropriate forum to discuss what can be learnt from this experience. it is against this background that i am grateful for the opportunity today to explain the role of the ecb in the troika, to discuss our assessment of the adjustment process in the programme countries and to draw with you some key lessons from the last four years. the ecb ’ s role in the troika let me start by recalling the circumstances under which the troika was set up. when a sovereign debt crisis erupted in spring 2010 in the aftermath of an unprecedented global financial crisis, the euro area was caught unprepared. the maastricht architecture had failed to prevent the build - up of excessive imbalances and unsustainable fiscal positions by a number of countries. europe was then ill - equipped to handle a crisis of such magnitude stemming from these developments. there was no framework for dealing with member states losing market access. there was no governance foreseen for such cases. there was no instrument to provide funding. under these difficult circumstances, the member states decided to grant financial assistance subject to appropriate conditionality as part of an adjustment programme. the eurogroup sought to avail itself of the best available expertise to support it in designing and reviewing these programmes. the imf and the european commission in liaison with the ecb with their complementary experience in crisis management, country surveillance and financial stability were asked to take on this difficult task – this is what we know today as the troika. the particular expertise and euro area focus of the ecb, in other words, the views we have on the systemic consequences of the decisions under discussion, were compelling reasons for