##b is transparency, already mentioned as one of the keys to greater credibility. transparency means openness about the ecb ’ s objectives, its policy implementation, its monetary policy deliberations and the forward - looking orientation of its policies. the ecb has explained, clearly and explicitly, that its main goal is maintaining price stability and described the strategies by which it is seeking to achieve it. i have already pointed out the additional issues of growth and unemployment. there is still discussion, but there is consensus concerning the primary objective. discussion of these topics will continue in publications, announcements, speeches by ecb authorities and discussions. this kind of transparency is an important characteristic of the ecb. the ecb will be accountable for its policy changes and for its announced policy intentions. this will contribute to transparency in its daily operations. in addition, for the sake of transparency the minutes of ecb executive committee meetings should be made public. on this issue, the ecb has one concern. if a member of the committee approves a decision that is not advantageous for his own country, it may cause some problems. indeed, the publication of the minutes of meetings years later could create some risks. at this stage, i find this a reasonable objection. maybe in time this problem can be solved. the fourth important characteristic of the ecb is that to reduce uncertainty, policymaking and economic indicators are treated on a forward - looking basis. the bank ’ s fundamental strategy is to calm down expectations for the future, since uncertainty is the most important ingredient of instability. the main sources of the ecb ’ s monetary policy, which is based on these principles, are thus determined. these are monetary aggregates, inflation targets and other intermediate objectives such as selected monetary indicators, and finally the conduct of monetary policy in the light of all these elements. the ecb has indicated that even if it has an inflation target, it will not announce it. these monetary policy conditions absolutely guarantee that there will be some uncertainties and questions, and the first question will be whether it will be possible to lower the inflation rate below 2 % when the intermediate targets are indicators calculated using the monetary aggregates of member countries. other questions follow. will the mechanisms of monetary policy transmission still work efficiently? can monetary policy moves made as they are in germany today, using monetary aggregates as intermediate targets, succeed in the euro area as well? which monetary aggregates will be used? what of the money demand function? will there be a

. accordingly, the composition of domestic demand secures the simultaneous achievement of rapid growth and disinflation. ( iii ) although the strong position of the ytl against foreign currencies is a factor that supports domestic demand growth, it restricts the impact of rapid growth on prices not only by its direct effect on prices but also by stimulating investment demand, which in turn induces productivity gains. graph 13. output gap ( percent ) - 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 06 - i 05 - iii 05 - i 04 - iii 04 - i 03 - iii 03 - i 02 - iii 02 - i 01 - iii 01 - i 00 - iii 00 - i - 10 source : cbrt. despite the fact that the recent data provide signals for an ongoing strong course of domestic demand, within the framework of non - inflationary rapid growth analysis explained above, the output gap is expected to support the disinflation process in the first half of 2006 as well. nevertheless, our view that the contribution of supply - demand conditions to the disinflation process has diminished is still valid. foreign demand the current account, which was usd 15. 6 billion in 2004, reached usd 23. 1 billion in 2005, realizing 6. 4 percent of the gnp ( graph 14 ). the upward trend in the current account deficit continued in the first two months of 2006. graph 14. current account balance / gnp ( annualized, percentage ) - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 05 - ii 04 - iii 03 - iv 03 - i 02 - ii 01 - iii 00 - iv 00 - i 99 - ii 98 - iii - 7 source : cbrt. in 2005, while the rates of increase of both exports and imports weakened compared to 2004, the rate of increase in exports remained well below the rate of increase in imports in the second half of the year. the said tendency continued in the first two months of 2006 as well ( graph 15 ). the decline in textiles and apparels exports on an annual basis since november 2005 has had an unfavorable impact on general export performance. while rapid economic growth leads to an increase in the imports of intermediary goods, the rises in oil prices boost the amount of imports infused terms. graph 15. imports and exports ( * ) ( billion usd, annual percentage change ) imports exports jan - 06 nov - 05 jul - 05 sep - 05 may - 05 mar - 05 jan - 05 nov -