of understanding for the development of a wind farm in curacao that our climate minister rob jetten signed here last may. may much more collaboration follow! because the path towards a sustainable future goes'paso pa paso, dia pa dia'( step by step, day by day ), as you say here. central banks can help you take these steps. we can help to shape the transition to sustainable economic development. we can help ensure that sustainable choices are not only made, but also successfully encouraged and implemented. as supervisors, for example, we help the financial sector to identify sustainability risks and encourage institutions to take action where necessary. we are committed to making payment transactions more sustainable, including when it comes to the paper and printing 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches process for the money we issue. and we have an important role and position as an advisor to politicians and the government, for instance in the debate about a sustainable economy and the energy transition. in short : we are part of the team that will bring about a sustainable future. as are you. let's take this opportunity to share thoughts and ideas about the way forward. i know you have a proverb that would be a nice motto for our team :'son'e, dese'e, logr'e'( dream it, wish it, achieve it ) 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

the turn of the year 1998 - 99. today, most of the available information, from both coincident and leading indicators for the euro area, supports a picture of ongoing cyclical improvement. against this background, most forecasts point to a strengthening of economic activity in the remaining part of this year and in the course of next year. the european central bank ’ s ( ecb ’ s ) stability - oriented monetary policy for the euro area is contributing to these developments by aiming, in fulfilment of its mandate, to maintain price stability, thereby fostering a favourable environment for business activity. the ecb has defined price stability as a year - on - year increase in the harmonised index of consumer prices of below 2 % in the euro area, and has stated that price stability is to be maintained over the medium term. in the euro area, consumer prices increases have indicated some upward pressure recently, rising from 0. 9 % in june to 1. 2 % in august. the recent increases in oil prices and the lagged effects of the developments of the exchange rate in the first half of 1999 are the main factors behind the upward movement of prices. overall, however, the upward pressure has so far turned out to be moderate because the increase in import prices has been partially offset by a favourable development in domestic factors, such as the increased competition in the services sector and the success of deregulation in some markets. yet, in the immediate future further upward pressures on consumer prices can be expected as a result of the above - mentioned external factors. in the short - term, price developments should remain below 2 %. looking further ahead, however, upward risks to price stability should not be overlooked. monetary growth in terms of the three - month moving average of the annual growth rates of the broad aggregate m3 has been following a moderately rising trend since the start of this year, moving gradually away from the reference value of 4½ % set by the governing council of the ecb. the governing council is the main decision - making body of the ecb. its members are the six members of the ecb executive board and the eleven governors of the national central banks of the countries which have adopted the euro. monetary policy decisions are taken on a one person - one vote basis and from a euro area - wide perspective. the rising trend in m3 mainly reflects a continued, strong demand for its most liquid components, which to a large extent is due to the low opportunity costs of holding these monetary assets