as well as conducive to the functioning, growth and investment of the private sector. otherwise it will crowd out, rather than attract, private investment. hence, even if we have agreed that investment is necessary, we must weigh, calculate, and carefully estimate the returns and other potential consequences. lithuania ’ s debt will reach record highs this year. this may imply that we live at the expense of the future, in particular if we concentrate on one - off payments that are “ eaten away ” and do not contribute to the solution of the most persistent problems of the economy. however, if we use these funds prudently and wisely, this may also imply that we are building the country ’ s economic future. therefore, let ’ s invest, after measuring thrice, in the areas that can steer the ship of our economy in a new direction that would ensure the growth of potential gdp. if we manage to do this, we will pay our debts back without much pain. lithuania ’ s plan for the dna of the future economy, in its current shape, earmarks most investment for infrastructure, which is an important area. infrastructure is, and will continue to be, the foundation of sustainable economic growth. of course, this is only if it implies green, digital infrastructure, let ’ s say, 5g networks, rather than renovation of paving tiles in city squares. however, infrastructure is not the only area we should focus on. we should concern ourselves far more with the qualifications of the workforce – given a mismatch between the skills of more than one - third of workers and the labour market requirements. it is a narrow bottleneck that also impedes the flow of foreign direct investment. meanwhile, the pandemic will certainly speed up the processes of digitalisation and job automation as robots have the advantage of not spreading the virus ( at least covid ). therefore, technological progress necessitates investment in workers ’ skills, education and lifelong learning programmes. and the purpose of that is not merely to enable workers to keep their jobs. investment in modern infrastructure requires the availability of highly qualified workforce to be truly meaningful and to allow to fully benefit from digitalisation. a higher level of human capital would facilitate the creation of research centres and the strengthening of engineering and pharmaceutical industries. the more rapid growth of these sectors would allow starting the engine of innovation, given that these particular sectors invest most heavily in research and development. now we are as much as halfway behind the eu average in

mr o ’ connell gives a review on the euro and the european central bank and makes a few brief remarks on the world economy statement by mr maurice o ’ connell, governor of the central bank of ireland, to the irish parliament ’ s joint committee on european affairs, dublin, on 23 february 2000. * * * before i speak about the euro and the european central bank, may i make a few brief remarks on the world economy. the outlook is quite positive. the us economy has surprised even the most optimistic of observers. growth was of the order of 4 % last year and inflation remains low. europe appears to have turned the corner and to be on a path of stable, if unspectacular, growth. the european economy should expand by 3 % this year and this should be sustained in 2001. the far east generally is recovering, though the recovery in japan appears to be very tentative. as always, there are risks. in the us, factors such as the persistent balance of payments deficit or a declining stock market could undermine success. europe must address vigorously the structural deficiencies that are a dead hand on the economy. japan has yet to demonstrate convincingly that reforms, including consolidation of the financial sector, are beginning to work. at the international level generally, the succession of economic crises in recent years has prompted the authorities to review comprehensively the whole international financial architecture. central to this response have been efforts to improve the quality and availability of economic and financial data and strengthen financial regulation. this is underpinned by institutional developments, such as the creation of two new bodies - the financial stability forum and the g20. this is not today ’ s subject. i mention it, however, because there will be changes ahead which will enforce new standards of regulation and transparency worldwide. the euro it is against this background that we should assess the progress of the euro. the new currency is now in its second year. it is an accepted element of the international financial system, being the second largest currency - second only to the us dollar and ahead of the yen. the euro area has an internal market of about 290 million people, some 20 million more than the us. exports from the area account for almost 20 % of world exports. in 1999 the euro became the most popular currency for new bonds in international markets, accounting for some 45 %, compared with 42 % in us dollars. while the launch of the euro has been a remarkable success, the first year has not been without difficulty. during