dr. duisenberg responds to being made european banker of the year brief speech by the president of the netherlands bank and of the bank for international settlements, dr. w. f. duisenberg, on receiving the european banker of the year award in frankfurt on 3 / 3 / 97. first of all i would like to thank you for presenting me with the european banker of the year award. i must confess that apart from feeling highly honoured at having such a prize bestowed on me, i feel slightly surprised as well. it is not until 1st july of this year that i will be taking over the leadership of the emi to become a veritable european banker. there is something symbolic about this prize being presented in frankfurt, which is not just the vibrant financial heart of germany, but also the city where the monetary policy of the economic and monetary union will be made. and it is about emu that i wish to speak today. with the moment of deciding which member states meet the criteria for accession to emu creeping up on us, the discussion on emu is increasingly centring on the question of how emu is to be achieved rather than on whether emu will be achieved. and rightly so, because the completion of emu became a certainty when it was laid down in the maastricht treaty in 1992. emu is to start off on 1st january 1999. in the spring of 1998 the heads of government of the european union will decide which member states meet the criteria for entry. by signing and ratifying the treaty, member states opted to join emu as soon as they fulfil the criteria. only the united kingdom and denmark insisted on an opt - out clause, releasing them from the obligation to introduce the euro upon qualifying for emu. the completion of emu is irreversible, the introduction of the euro definitive. when emu takes off, all member states participating in the euro area will be confronted with a fundamental change of environment. a proper start is of the utmost importance, with the euro being just as hard as the guilder or, if you will, the deutsche mark. i need not explain to you the importance of low inflation, and hence of a strong currency. if we want the euro to be strong, there is nothing for it but to comply strictly with the convergence criteria. a weak euro and the attending high interest rate level would be of no benefit to anybody, and that includes the potential derogation countries. please

%. prices for grains and iron ore remained almost unchanged. uncertainty over the spread of the novel coronavirus, and stronger turbulence on financial and commodity markets saw the ukrainian fx market respond with deteriorated sentiment and 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches increased nervousness. this has led to a sizeable increase in demand for foreign currency, which exceeded the supply, starting last week. the nbu has been active on the interbank foreign exchange market since last week in order to smooth out large fluctuations of the exchange rate. this week alone, net fx sales by the nbu reached usd 700 million, and the central bank is ready to conduct more fx interventions if necessary. despite the fact that the psychological factor is the only reason for the fx market turmoil, it poses a risk of a deterioration in inflation expectations, which can later affect consumer prices. although so far the global spread of the novel coronavirus has had little effect on economic growth and inflation in ukraine, the nbu will most probably have to revise its macroeconomic forecasts in april. after all, the following consequences of the spread of the coronavirus have not yet impacted economic activity and inflation in ukraine : the downward pressure on prices and a cooling of the global economy monetary policy easing by central banks of the leading economies and ukraine ’ s trading partners in response to these processes measures taken by governments to prevent the spread of covid - 19. apart from the drop in global prices caused by the coronavirus, disinflation in ukraine will be driven by the recent rise in competition between crude oil producers. this will keep energy prices at record lows, which will also impact prices for ukrainian exports. overall, the effect of all these factors on economic growth and inflation in ukraine will be mixed, adding to the uncertainty. what other factors did the nbu consider when making its monetary policy decision today? the nbu board continued to rely on the key assumption that cooperation with the imf will continue. signing a new agreement with the imf will make the ukrainian economy less vulnerable in a time of turbulent global markets and during a period of heavy public debt repayments. investors ’ perception of ukraine will also depend on ukrainian court rulings on the responsibility and liabilities to the state of the former owners of insolvent banks. the risk arising from the global spread of the novel coronavirus could, if realized, drive the global economy into a recession and cause a significant slowdown in the ukrainian economy. a dramatic decline in global demand and investors