and not just through greater openness in communication, but also in the way central banks present themselves in their releases. this is not surprising, since we all, during the crisis, faced with high uncertainty, mistrust, and we started using instruments outside the conventional set of instruments. with regard to these changes, i would particularly emphasize the ecb ’ s example. since the beginning of the crisis, its communication includes more the so - called “ forward guidance ", i. e. pointing to the future monetary policy setup. mario draghi ’ s statement from 2012, when the future of the euro was in jeopardy, is well known, a statement that has stabilized financial markets and confidence – “ within our mandate, the ecb is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. and believe me, it will be enough ”. moreover, the scope and the volume of our functions significantly enlarged. macro - prudential function, banking solution, consumer protection in the financial services sector – all of these are new dimensions for us, which also mean change in the context and improvement of the way we communicate. the changes in the last decade have been particularly pronounced in terms of 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches information and statistics requests from central banks. as the uncertainty grows, so does the “ impatience ” for faster access to data and information on the economy and financial sector condition. at today ’ s workshop, the accent was put particularly on this part of our communication – statistics, which is pivotal for our decision - making, and equally important when properly communicating and explaining them to the public. for the first time, we decided that this event should be fully devoted to this topic, taking into consideration your interests expressed in the survey conducted last year, as well as the interests you most often addressed this year. we, as a central bank, are also active data user, simultaneously producing and disseminating large portfolio of statistical data, which is why we have huge responsibility. first, to provide timely, quality and comprehensive data consistent with the highest international standards. the membership in sdds plus standard – the imf ’ s highest standard since the beginning of this year – is a proof for these commitments ; second, to put all available data into active use in our analytical work, in order to make appropriate decisions on the basis of data and information ; third, to provide a transparent, regular presentation of our statistical portfolio to the public. as a central bank, we understand very well the need

has made, and will continue to make, to support the efficient working of financial markets in the euro area. price stability the first and foremost contribution that the ecb aims to make is price stability. the european system of central banks will pursue its primary objective of maintaining price stability with determination. this should facilitate the formation of price expectations by market participants and contribute to financial stability in general. this environment will be beneficial to the efficiency of savings allocation amongst the various sectors of the economy of the euro area. there are several reasons for this. first, the achievement of price stability should help to reduce the uncertainty relating to the future path of inflation. this should enhance the information content of real and financial asset prices and improve the capacity of economic agents to select investment options efficiently. second, price stability will contribute to protecting the value of savings, thereby avoiding the undesirable wealth re - distribution effects that inflation may cause. third, in the long run, increased financial stability may contribute to reducing the likelihood of occurrence of asset price bubbles. payment systems a second contribution of the ecb relates to the field of payment systems. the emi, and now the ecb, have developed the target system, which will be made available to market participants as from 4 january 1999. the system will ensure the unification of money markets in the euro area. it will reduce transaction costs for cross - border payments and greatly enhance security with regards to settlement risks and possible payment gridlocks. the ecb has also prepared, and is about to publish, a set of minimum standards which securities settlement systems should fulfil in order to be used in escb credit operations. this publication and other initiatives taken by the ecb have fostered the increased co - operation between securities settlement systems and depositories of the euro area. market rules and practices a third contribution of the ecb relates to market rules and practices. many commentators have recognised that european monetary union will contribute to the furthering of the harmonisation of market rules and practices. in accordance with the mandates given by treaties and statutes, the european monetary institute has taken, and now the european central bank takes, an active role in the promotion of adequate new market conventions and rules for the euro area, bearing in mind the principles of free competition. monetary policy framework of the ecb finally, financial markets will need to take into account the monetary policy framework of the ecb. the monetary policy framework of the ecb has been built so as to be very efficient for transmitting monetary