. as i have said, it should not by any means replace or hamper the functioning of the epc, nor should it take over the dialogue with end - users on its precise schemes, frameworks and standards. within the eurosystem, we are currently working on the modalities for this “ sepa council ” while working together closely with the european commission. conclusion i will conclude by saying that it remains the goal of the eurosystem to promote the advent of an integrated, efficient and innovative retail payments market in the euro area. the sepa project should be as much a part of a bank ’ s core business as the provision of efficient payment services to its customers. now that we have a single market for goods and services, we need a single market for payments to actually pay for these goods and services. regulation ( ec ) 2560 / 2001 on cross - border payments in euro ( recently revised by regulation ( ec ) 3655 / 09 ). sepa is also necessary to complete the introduction of the euro as the single currency of 329 million european citizens and to foster financial integration in europe. the launch of the sdd marks a further step forward in the process of european integration towards a single payments area. i congratulate all those who contributed to this milestone. thank you!

near - term inflation expectations are quite elevated. in the ces, the medium - term inflation expectations of households also remain well below the near - term inflation expectations. across all available sources, macroeconomic expectations ( and prospects at the individual level ) suggest a high degree of concern about a potential economic slowdown, a general recognition that supply shocks will generate both near - term inflation surges and a decline in the economic outlook, which in turn will constrain the persistence of inflation. this profile is consistent with a profile in which market participants, experts and households broadly understand ( albeit to varying degrees ) that supply shocks and temporary factors have pushed inflation up to the current high levels but that these factors are expected to fade over time, reinforced by the understanding that monetary policy actions ( as captured by the expectations of substantial rate hikes in the coming months ) will ensure the return of inflation to target. in terms of the feedback loop from inflation expectations to nominal and real dynamics, it is important to appreciate that, for any given nominal yield curve, if high near - time inflation expectations are accompanied by expectations of a deteriorated macroeconomic outlook and significant uncertainty then the inflation cycle is less likely to be amplified through an endogenous increase in consumption, investment and credit compared to an alternative scenario in which high near - term inflation expectations are accompanied by macroeconomic optimism. put differently, cost - push inflation shocks are less likely to give rise to a pro - cyclical real interest rate channel compared to demand - driven inflation shocks. at the same time, market - based indicators of inflation risk and the right - tail of responses in the expert and household surveys also clearly show that the risk of inflation not returning to target in a timely manner is priced by market participants and feared by some survey respondents. as indicated in our recent monetary policy statements, such above - target revisions to some indicators of longer - term inflation expectations warrant close monitoring. in tracking these right - tail indicators, two conjectures are especially relevant. in one direction, more attentive traders, experts and individuals may identify more quickly a persistent shift in inflation dynamics, while inattentive participants adjust more slowly. under such scenarios, as highlighted in the pioneering work of ricardo reis, right - tail measures will be leading indicators for a generalised revision in long - term inflation expectations. [ 2 ] however, under other scenarios, the right tail might be populated by those who over - react to high spot inflation readings and mis - perceive as permanent what turns out