hard to boost inflation. but despite the fact that they are still not satisfied with the level of inflation, the economy is doing very well. can ’ t we be satisfied with that and be a bit more relaxed about inflation? i can understand why politicians may think that way, but as central bankers we can ’ t. our mandate is narrow, and it is a price stability mandate. in the united states there is quite an open discussion about the inflation target. isn ’ t it time to start that discussion in europe as well? i really do not think that it is the right time to start a discussion on the ecb ’ s definition of price stability, in either direction. throughout the crisis we have been an anchor of stability. if you look at longer - term inflation expectations, they have been very stable, and this has helped avoid deflation. this anchor remains needed at a time when the euro area is still coping with the legacy of the crisis. another topic that is currently the subject of heated debate is the possibility of bitcoins replacing cash. how important is this topic for the ecb? there are different forms of digital currency. bitcoin is not a currency ; it is a financial instrument which creates major risks for investors because its value is highly unstable, not to mention the issues of tax evasion and criminal activity. this is not a monetary policy discussion. on the other hand, new technologies are being developed on wholesale financial markets, such as the use of 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches blockchain for clearing and settlement, which may one day require digital money to settle transactions. we are looking into it because we have to follow all technological developments. finally, whether there should be a shift out of cash and towards digital currencies issued by central banks is yet another discussion. what is your view on that? i believe that central banks should be extremely cautious when they deal with such issues, because they concern trust in the currency. there are different views on the use of cash. germany, for example, is a country where people remain very much attached to cash. different societies will have different opinions. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

strong anti - euro movement in portugal, there is a growing current of opinion which says, : “ ok, we made all these political and economic efforts but are still paying high interest rates. it is very difficult to see where all this will end so perhaps it would be easier to leave the euro ”. a – sure, i understand. but i ’ m not sure it would be easier. the omt was an instrument created to address what we call “ the break - up fear. ” q – do you think the break - up fear has disappeared? a – yes, absolutely. i think the break - up fear has disappeared, which is a very positive result. what is now important is the credibility of reforms. i think portugal is on the right track. of course the risk premium remains high, because the risk is still high. but i think that this domestic adjustment must – to the extent possible – continue in a balanced way. bis central bankers ’ speeches q – when we look at europe – and we will have european elections in may – we can easily see that some political parties in greece, italy or even the uk or germany and the netherlands – not in portugal, but... – there are anti - euro politicians who are doing well in the polls. a – what we learned from the crisis is that we have an unfinished monetary union. a monetary union that seemed to work well in good times, but in harsh times we saw that the institutional mechanisms didn ’ t work well. there was no crisis preparation, no good crisis management, no joint supervision – many things were not in place before the crisis. that ’ s what we ’ re doing now. so the solution, if i may say so, is not less europe – this would have drastic consequences on the domestic market – but the opposite : what we need is more europe. the crisis showed that what failed were the unfinished institutions within the monetary union. that ’ s what we ’ re building. the banking union is an example. for portugal in particular, i think that it is very good news that we are talking about the end of the current adjustment programme, with or without a precautionary programme. the key is to convey this message of credibility that portuguese politicians – not just the government – continue to support reform. i know it ’ s not easy and i know that the european elections may have to deal with anti - european movements. nevertheless, i think that the vast majority of european parties have come to