prize - winning architectural offices which participated in the revision phase of the competition. over the past 11 months, they have gone into substantial depth to elaborate the details of their design proposals. the high quality and professionalism of the work done in the revision phase was very much appreciated by the governing council. the governing council ’ s decision on the design of the ecb ’ s premises was reached after extensive discussion and careful evaluation of the prize - winning designs. as a public institution, we are committed to performing our tasks effectively and to using our financial resources prudently. therefore, it was essential to have a thorough and comprehensive assessment - even if that prolonged the process somewhat - so as to make the right decision on a matter of such symbolic and financial importance. let me now explain briefly the main reasons why the governing council chose coop himmelb ( l ) au ’ s design. i am delighted that the architect, prof. wolf prix, and his colleagues, mr dreibholz and mr halm, have joined us for this press briefing today. the design chosen the governing council judged the revised design concept of coop himmelb ( l ) au not only to be superior from an overall aesthetic and urban planning perspective, but also to be the one that best met the functional and technical requirements specified by the ecb. it was felt that this expressive, dynamic and appealing design would serve as a unique landmark, and result in the ecb ’ s new premises having a strong identity. in the governing council ’ s view, this design concept had features that reflected the ecb ’ s values - in particular, unity and transparency - and translated them into architectural language. furthermore, the way in which the three elements of the design - the high - rise building of a twisted shape, the “ groundscraper ” and the grossmarkthalle - formed a harmonious and well - proportioned ensemble was assessed very positively. we also considered that the integration of the grossmarkthalle into this ensemble was addressed in an excellent way, while at the same time respecting the fundamental appearance of this historic building. the design concept also met, in principle, the ecb ’ s functional and spatial requirements. the governing council appreciated especially the good connection of the different functional areas and the excellent workplace quality, guaranteeing natural light for all members of staff. using the atrium as a large communicative zone within the two tower buildings was also welcomed. the governing council noted that all requirements for the energy

supply cannot meet demand. which brings me to another question : is it even possible to have adequate monetary policy in the euro area when the differences between countries are so big? if we look at inflation for example, the last six months, in the netherlands it was 2. 6 % while the european average was 1. 4 %. so is it possible? it ’ s the rule of the game. when the euro area was set up, when the euro was chosen, when we see that people support the euro and like the euro as much as they do, we have to find the tools and put in place the instruments to strengthen the euro area. why are we short of banking union? why are we short of capital markets union, so that if i have a small enterprise in france, i can actually borrow the funding that is available in the netherlands and we can have a consistent and deeper system of financing our enterprises. these are tools that we have to use to bring more harmony, more consistency between the markets. it cannot be only about the monetary union. it has to go beyond that to be solid and to be more efficient. does the weak economy in europe worry you? 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches clearly, growth is not at potential and hopefully by 2022 – this is in our forecast – we will be close to potential, at 1. 4 % growth. we have to use all the tools. we will do what we have to do, but i think that some fiscal policies should be applied and i ’ m very pleased to see that the netherlands are deploying fiscal policies in a very sensible and wise way in order to respond to the situation and to use the space that is available without even touching the special reserve fund that has been set up. but others should follow suit and should be inspired by the dutch example. about the dutch budget surplus, as imf managing director you always said that it would be good if the dutch government spent more. do you think the same, as the ecb president? this is happening because what i understand from the forecast for the next two years is that they will develop spending on education, on infrastructure, on fighting climate change. this is exactly what those countries that have fiscal space should do, and i think this is very, very welcome. you still say the same, but our minister of finance … no, i said that i admire what is being considered. yes, because our minister of finance, wopke hoekstra