nicholas c garganas : adjusting to the single monetary policy of the ecb luncheon address by mr nicholas c garganas, governor of the bank of greece, before the euro 50 group, athens, 24 june 2005. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i would like to thank prof. richard portes for his kind introduction. it is indeed an honour and a pleasure to address such a distinguished audience of academics and practitioners specialized in the field of european economic policies and broader issues linked to the euro. this meeting is an important event. it takes place at a time of tensions about the impact of the single monetary policy on the euro area and when several commentators have raised doubts about the sustainability of monetary union. europe's single - currency undertaking is perhaps the boldest attempt ever in which a large and diverse group of sovereign states has attempted to reap the efficiency gains of using a common currency. the euro has created a new monetary reality for 307 million europeans that few would have thought possible a generation ago. like most bold undertakings, however, the euro has had its share of ups and downs. when the euro was launched in 1999, skeptics were doubtful whether it would be possible to make the euro a stable currency. yet, the euro, which is probably the most visible and tangible symbol of this integration process, is now in its seventh year and has been firmly and credibly established as a stable currency. today, i want to address a widely - debated issue - namely, whether a single monetary policy can fit all parties in a supposedly heterogeneous currency area. this issue has been debated extensively since the start of emu. the debate has recently intensified, reflecting concerns about the increased divergence of growth rates over the past few quarters and uncertainties deriving from french and dutch rejections of the constitutional treaty. before i discuss this issue, allow me to offer the following qualification. my perspective is that of someone from greece, a small, open economy with a history of very high inflation and enormous fiscal deficits in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. other countries'perspectives might well highlight features other than those that i will discuss. emu : an optimum currency area perspective emu brought unique challenges for monetary policy. critical observers took the view that a single monetary policy was doomed to failure. this skepticism was supported by the arguments of the traditional theory of optimum currency areas, which recommended monetary unification only among economies with flexible markets, free mobility

yannis stournaras : recent economic and financial developments in greece speech by mr yannis stournaras, governor of the bank of greece, at the 86th annual meeting of shareholders, athens, 1 april 2019. * * * greece in the post - programme period : challenges and prospects towards a sustainable growth model 2019 marks the beginning of new course for the greek economy. following the successful completion of the last economic adjustment programme in august 2018, the activation of the enhanced surveillance framework and with greece now subject to the improved institutional framework for economic governance in the european union and the euro area, the greek economy is called upon to operate in a new economic policy context. it is our duty, as individuals, businesses, political and institutional stakeholders, to prove that we have taken ownership of the lessons of the crisis. 2018 saw the recovery of the greek economy gain traction, with a gdp growth rate of 1. 9 %. the key drivers of growth were a rise in exports of goods and services, reflecting a greater extroversion of the economy, and a pick - up in private consumption supported by employment growth and an increase in households ’ disposable income. the smooth execution and completion of the economic adjustment programme, improvements in confidence and the ensuing strengthening of growth led to a return of deposits to banks. this, in turn, enabled an increase in bank liquidity, a significant reduction and almost elimination of emergency liquidity assistance ( ela ) from the bank of greece, a small recovery of bank credit, as well as a further relaxation of capital controls. all of the above led to upgrades of the credit rating of the greek sovereign and enabled greece to return to international financial markets a year later, in february 2019, when, taking advantage and of the favourable global investment climate, the greek government successfully issued a five - year bond. the successful issue of a five - year government bond was the first positive step on the way back to normality. moreover, the successful 10 - year bond issue in march 2019, for the first time since the start of the public debt crisis in 2010, marked a more decisive step in the same direction, i. e. towards reconnecting greece with the markets. the legal provision recently passed by parliament on primary residence protection also contributes in this direction, as it reforms the relevant legislative framework, incorporating specific eligibility criteria and safeguards. the debt relief measures agreed in june 2018, together with the increased disbursements from the european stability mechanism (