hermann remsperger : aging : is this really a relevant issue for a central bank? speech by professor hermann remsperger, member of the board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the bundesbank 2001 spring conference, eltville 4 may 2001. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i would like to warmly welcome you to the third bundesbank spring conference, which introduces some innovations. it is the first time that we are staging a spring conference jointly with an academic institution, namely the burch center of berkeley university and its director alan auerbach. i am very pleased about this “ joint venture ” and would like to thank alan for his cooperation. another innovation : this year ’ s spring conference is being held at the bundesbank ’ s training centre here in eltville. i am sure that the somewhat longer route to eltville will prove to be both interesting and productive. the inventor of printing, johannes gutenberg, is said to have operated one of the very first printing presses in eltville. so this is an ideal place for communicating important messages. the topic which we have chosen for this year ’ s conference is by no means new. a whole string of conferences on aging have been held in the recent past. nevertheless, the topic chosen represents an innovative step for us. why innovative? – because we wish to discuss a problem whose relevance to monetary policy is not as clear - cut as were the subjects of our previous conferences. in 1999 we considered the monetary transmission process, and last year we discussed the investment process in europe. so far, the debate on aging has focused on the challenges which it poses to the labour market and the social security system. thus the pay - as - you - go system in germany is to be complemented in future by funded components in the form of company - based pension schemes and private pension plans. in my view this is an absolutely necessary step. in germany, for example, the ratio of the over - sixties to people aged between 20 and 60 will rise from just over 40 % to around 75 % by the middle of this century. similar tendencies in the age structure of the population will also occur in other european countries as well as in japan and – although not quite so dramatically – in the united states. increased life expectancy, declining birth rates and earlier retirement are the factors behind this trend. this gives rise to the following key question : in the context of an aging society, how can one ensure

jens weidmann : a central banker ’ s take on improving the euro area ’ s stability speech by dr jens weidmann, president of the deutsche bundesbank and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, at the bank of portugal, lisbon, 10 december 2015. * 1. * * introduction governor costa, ambassador brandenburg, president martinho distinguished members of the portuguese government and the portuguese parliament ladies and gentlemen thank you very much for inviting me. it is a pleasure to be here in lisbon. i am very honoured that the event this evening has attracted such a distinguished audience. in my speech today, i will address the future of emu ‒ the economic and monetary union in europe. i will focus on the issue of making the euro area more prosperous and making the common currency more stable. the euro has always been a political project with the aim of establishing ever closer ties between the nations of europe. but, of course, it is more than just a political project – it also holds out the promise of prosperity. in recent years, this promise has lost credibility for many in the euro area, prompting some to regard the requirements of our common currency not as an anchor of stability, but as a source of instability. interestingly, this view is shared by both : observers complaining about the institutional framework being too restrictive to allow for national stabilisation policies, and those complaining about monetary union evolving into a transfer union, which is contrary to the stipulation of the maastricht treaty. it is undisputed, however, that the rescue mechanisms that were put in place prevented the crisis in the euro area from escalating. but they did so by mutualising fiscal liability on a substantial scale. fiscal and economic policies, by contrast, are essentially still a national prerogative, though the rules have admittedly been stiffened somewhat. as a result, the balance between liability and control has been thrown out of kilter. however, such a balanced partnership between liability and control is so crucial for the functioning of emu that it calls to mind a frank sinatra song called “ love and marriage ”. you may remember the words : love and marriage, love and marriage / they go together like a horse and carriage / this i tell you brother / you can ’ t have one without the other /... try, try, try to separate them / it ’ s an illusion however, while some would argue that love and marriage are separable concepts,