willem f duisenberg : congratulatory speech at the national bank of belgium ’ s 150th anniversary speech by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the official celebration of the 150th anniversary of the national bank of belgium, brussels, on 12 may 2000. * * * it is a great honour to be invited to speak at this official celebration of the 150th anniversary of the national bank of belgium ( the bank ). before i say anything else, let me first congratulate the bank on reaching this milestone in its history and allow me to congratulate in particular all those whose work and dedication have ensured its place as a successful and well respected central bank. as we have heard from prime minister verhofstadt, the bank enjoys a rich and extensive history, which dates back almost as far as the state of belgium itself and during which time it has contributed greatly to the development of the belgian economy. it is also a time in which the tasks and responsibilities of central banks have evolved to such an extent that they bear little resemblance to those of a century and half ago. since then historical, political and technological developments as well as advances in economic theory have caused the role of the central bank to evolve and mature. they have also, almost invariably, increased its importance. of these changes one might first mention the economic consequences of war and of the great depression, which focused the minds of economic thinkers and governments on the role that macroeconomic policies should play in achieving higher levels of economic growth and welfare. second, the end of the economic boom and the rise of inflation in the 1970s increased our awareness of the importance of sound money and the need for monetary policy to be aimed at maintaining price stability. third, the disinflation process that followed served to emphasise the benefits of conferring responsibility for this policy upon an independent central bank. however, among those developments that have most influenced the role of europe ’ s central banks in recent decades, there is one which stands out as being pivotal. i am referring, of course, to european economic and monetary union ( emu ). it is now more than 30 years since the werner report first proposed a framework for replacing europe ’ s national currencies with a single european currency, more than 20 years since the establishment of the european monetary system ( ems ) and nearly 10 years since the signing of the maastricht treaty, which committed eu member states to achieving monetary union. in

that time, the efforts of europe ’ s politicians and central bankers have confounded many sceptics by making the euro an economic and political reality. clearly, the transition to a single currency did not take place in a vacuum. on the contrary, a number of factors shaped the path towards emu. some of these factors had a positive impact. i am referring here, in particular, to the remarkable progress that has taken place in establishing a climate of stable prices throughout the european union. this development undoubtedly reflects the consensus that now exists among central bankers and politicians alike, concerning the appropriate role of monetary policy in the general conduct of economic policy. also, one should not forget the dramatic events of 1989, which not only led to german unification and the fall of the iron curtain but also redefined the parameters of the economic and political environment in europe. yet there were also other factors which, had it not been for the determination of those committed to emu, could have significantly delayed or even derailed the whole process. of these, the ems crisis of 1992 - 93 immediately springs to mind. as a result of this crisis, many of those who already doubted the feasibility of emu became increasingly sceptical as to whether we would actually achieve our stated goal. thus when we consider the events of the last decade in particular, we must appreciate that the driving force towards the introduction of a single currency was, above all, the political will of the actors involved. in this regard, belgium ’ s politicians and its central bankers should be congratulated on the commitment that kept their country at the forefront of the integration process. this commitment could and still can be seen at various levels. at the political level, the policies pursued both by the government and by the bank ensured that the belgian franc became a stabilising force in the ems and that belgium was ready to be a founding member of the euro area. this achievement owes a great deal to the efforts of many persons. i can only mention a few of them, such as former prime minister dehaene, the former governors verplaetse and godeaux, and the present governor quaden, who is often seen as mr. euro here in belgium. equally, sometimes behind the scenes, i should recall the dedication of persons both from the treasury and from the bank for their contributions to monetary union. among them i should like to single out two individuals. the first is jacques van ypersele de strihou who,