a truly integrated euro area banking system and single money. the transmission of the ecb ’ s monetary policy remains at risk of being hampered in crisis situations as long as levels of depositor confidence differ across the euro area. the second thing we need to do is build a true single market in capital. diversified capital markets play an important role in sharing risks and smoothing private consumption over time. for this reason, the ecb has been a strong supporter of the european commission ’ s plan for a capital markets union. to be robust, the capital markets union needs effective regulation and supervision, for example in relation to investment firms and clearing. not least given the united kingdom ’ s imminent departure from the eu, we need to make concrete progress on this agenda and complement it with an ambitious, longer - term vision. conclusions i would like to end by mentioning that recent eurobarometer data show that support for the euro stands at a record high of 77 % among euro area citizens and a large majority believe that their country ’ s membership of the eu is a good thing. support for the european project is particularly strong in ireland, where with 88 % of citizens the single currency enjoys the highest level of support in the eu. europe has to repay this trust. we face important global challenges that are naturally causing concern among the people of europe, especially those who feel left behind. common institutions and collaboration among member states give europe a strong voice in the world. more importantly, they make it possible for us to find effective answers to joint problems. in other words, we are stronger together. thank you for your attention. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

difference in the sort of mistake you could make these days. if you react late, you risk some inflationary pressures, as the economy turns out to be stronger than you thought. this risk is deemed to be limited given the degree of slack we are still seeing in the euro area. on the other hand, scaling back too early could jeopardise the recovery and the convergence of inflation towards our objective ” is that the discussion that ecb president mario draghi referred to in his most recent press conference? praet : “ no, that debate primarily concerned upside and downside risks for growth. are they balanced or not? the assessment of the balance of risks plays a very important signalling function. the governing council signalled that risks are increasingly balanced, but still tilted to the downside. we will of course be re - evaluating the situation in the following meetings. ” we see that draghi sometimes changes half a sentence, and on other occasions alludes to the lower risks. is he trying to massage the markets? praet : “ it ’ s not a matter of massaging the markets, it ’ s more a question of careful communication. ” 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches do you look forward to the day when your every word is no longer dissected? praet : “ well, i ’ ll still have to wait two more years for that, until i retire. a belgian banker once told me, when i was working with the generale bank : ‘ i had a great deal to tell, but nothing to say. now i have a lot to say, but may tell little. once i retire, i guess i ’ ll have nothing left to say and nothing left to tell ’. ” text box bond - buying has increased the central banks ’ balance sheets dramatically. will they ever shrink back to pre - crisis levels? “ it ’ s still too early to say. there are many aspects to this issue, which is a matter of discussion in the federal reserve. this is also uncharted territory. what if you stop reinvesting in bonds when they reach maturity? what effect would that have on the normalisation of interest rates? would that process then speed up? it ’ s not a simple matter at all. everything in monetary policy is interlinked. every time you change direction, you set a chain of events in motion. another aspect, which relates more to the functioning of financial markets, is the balance between the supply