medium term. this commitment will guide the determination of the monetary policy stance. at the same time, the ecb stands ready to respond flexibly, effectively and in a timely manner, in order to address potential money market liquidity pressures, so as to support its monetary policy objective and mitigate the risks to the financial system and the real economy. if necessary, this will be carried out in close concertation with other major central banks, as has been done successfully in the past. the ongoing adjustment of financial markets is likely to last for some time. this could prove to be challenging and further test the shock - absorption capacity of components of the financial system. policy - makers and market participants have already taken significant measures, and several additional initiatives are under way, to address the identified weaknesses in the financial system, enhance risk management practices, restore confidence and strengthen the resilience of the financial system. v. concluding remarks the policy challenges that the ecb and other central banks are facing this year and beyond require the close monitoring of all developments, as well as comprehensive analysis and determined action to prevent certain risks from materialising and to effectively manage others. fundamentally, however, the performance of our economies and the resilience of our financial system depend on market participants ’ decisions, actions and risk management. the close cooperation of policy - makers and market participants is an essential ingredient for achieving sustainable economic growth and preserving price stability. to this end, the global association of risk professionals has an important role to play, as the expertise and experience of its members will contribute to further improvements in the field of risk management. once again, i should like to thank you, also on behalf of all my colleagues at the bank, for awarding the risk manager of the year award to the ecb. thank you very much for your attention.

the everyday life of over 300 million people and right from its very first days, the euro has been a success. despite what many sceptics expected, the ecb and the euro have been credible from day one. this credibility is based on the sound institutional setting for emu enshrined in the maastricht treaty. the treaty provides the ecb with a clear mandate to safeguard price stability in the euro area and the eurosystem enjoys full independence in the pursuit of this mandate. over the past ten years the ecb ’ s stability - oriented monetary policy strategy has made a significant contribution to the delivery of price stability and to the anchoring of inflation expectations in line with this primary objective of monetary policy. despite the fact that a large number of unforeseeable and adverse macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks have hit the euro area economy since 1998, inflation in the euro area has remained on average in the close vicinity of 2 %. it is – therefore – remarkable that even amidst such disturbances, inflation expectations have remained anchored at levels consistent with price stability over the medium term. and, it is undeniable that this is a significant improvement compared with the decades prior to the introduction of the euro. indeed, the euro has resulted in significant advantages for euro area citizens and companies, notably by creating an environment of monetary and financial stability. the euro has brought favourable financing conditions with market interest rates being much lower than in pre - emu times, thereby supporting investment and sustainable economic growth. the citizens of the euro area ultimately benefit in terms of more competition, favourable prices and better employment prospects. moreover, the euro and eurosystem institutions have contributed to a more efficient functioning of the financial system and to greater financial integration. the financial market participants benefit from lower costs of capital and a more efficient allocation of resources. the success of the euro has only been possible with a great team effort among the today 15 ncbs and the ecb. it is a great success that the governing council consisting of at the beginning 11 and today 15 national central bank governors with very different and diverse monetary policy experience and history and 6 ecb executive board members conducted a joint monetary policy for the euro area independently of national interests. in this context, let me reflect further on the role of the ncbs in the overall eurosystem policy - making process. 2. the role of ncbs in the eurosystem the eurosystem operates very much like any other large organisation with a decent