ewald nowotny : toward a genuine economic and monetary union opening remarks by prof dr ewald nowotny, governor of the central bank of the republic of austria, at the workshop “ toward a genuine economic and monetary union ”, vienna, 10 september 2015. * * * dear colleagues, dear paul, dear otmar, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to welcome you here in vienna to today ’ s and tomorrow ’ s workshop, hosted by the oesterreichische nationalbank and organized in cooperation with the euro50 group, a network of leading experts and policymakers in the field of european monetary integration. obviously, the title of our workshop, “ toward a genuine economic and monetary union, ” implies that economic and monetary union, or emu for short, is not genuine yet. but despite all its deficiencies, let us not forget that emu and the euro are major achievements. for its member countries, emu has anchored price stability and increased cross - border trade and financial integration. even during the financial crisis, the number of countries sharing the euro increased to nineteen, and is set to grow further. for the european union as a whole, the single currency is a symbol of a peaceful europe, a keystone of economic integration and political unity. and for the world, the euro has become a major player in the international monetary system and the global economy. yet, during the global financial crisis, emu was seriously put to the test. the fact that the socalled “ sovereign ” debt crisis ( which incidentally had also been caused by private debt accumulation ) occurred in europe and not in other regions with even higher debt levels is certainly related to the incomplete institutional setting of emu. while the monetary part of emu was fully implemented in 1999, the economic counterpart is still an unfinished business. but how can we ensure the smooth functioning of emu? the recently published five presidents ’ report “ completing europe ’ s economic and monetary union ” tries to address this question. the five presidents in question are those of the european commission, the european council, the eurogroup, the european central bank and the european parliament. their proposals rest on four pillars : first, an economic union that promotes convergence, prosperity and social cohesion ; second, a financial union that integrates banking and capital markets regulation ; third, a fiscal union that guarantees sound public households ; and fourth, a political union that strengthens democratic accountability, legitimacy and institution building. as an aside

klaus liebscher : prospects for the international role of the euro speech by dr klaus liebscher, governor of the austrian national bank, at the salzburg seminar “ challenges to the international monetary system ”, salzburg, 1 october 2007. * * * ladies and gentlemen! let me begin by thanking the organizers for inviting me to share with you my views on the “ prospects for the international role of the euro ” in this marvelous and historic venue. i have accepted the invitation with pleasure. since the introduction of the single currency, the eurosystem, i. e. the ecb and the national central banks of the euro area, was always of the opinion that the international use of the euro should neither be promoted nor hindered. it has taken a neutral stance and has left it to the market forces to determine the role of the euro as an international currency. to the extent that the eurosystem has been successful in maintaining price stability, this in itself has fostered the use of the euro as an international currency. eight and a half years after its introduction, the euro has now established itself firmly as the second world currency. nearly one - third of all international debt securities are denominated in euro, and the euro accounts for more than 25 % of global foreign exchange reserves. moreover, with 646 billion banknotes and coins in circulation, the euro has already overtaken the us dollar. 1 in international foreign exchange markets, the us - dollar has retained its dominant role, however the euro has established itself as the second most often traded currency. notwithstanding its neutral stance, the ecb and the eurosystem are following developments closely. since 2001, the ecb has been publishing its so - called “ review of the international role of the euro ” on a regular basis. this review provides a detailed description of the euro ’ s use in the various segments of financial markets and in international trade. the latest “ review of the international role of the euro ”, published in june 2007, reports that recent developments in the international use of the euro vary across global market segments. while the international role of the euro has lessened slightly in some segments, namely international debt securities, international deposits and loans as well as foreign exchange, in other segments it has continued to be highly stable or even to grow gradually. in particular, the use of the euro as a reserve currency by third countries has increased somewhat. moreover, demand for euro banknotes and for euro - denominated deposits by private agents