monetary union will be preserved and the institutional position of the eurosystem within the whole european union will be better defined. at least as important as the architecture is the way how the authorities live in the well - established house of the economic and monetary union. this is what i would like to term the “ stability culture ”. it is certainly a significant task for monetary policy makers to thoroughly honour their obligations to conduct a stability - oriented balanced monetary policy for the whole euro area. moreover, it is a formidable challenge for fiscal policy to maintain a culture of stability, in particular in times of slow growth. nonetheless, it is essential that all eu member states remain credibly committed to and, thus, comply with the existing framework of democratically established self - imposed rules. the challenge consists in responding positively to the fiscal consolidation pressure which results from obeying the rules. in addition, acute pressures may be avoided by anticipating longer - term reform measures in a timely manner. obviously, this is directly linked to the next major ingredient of a “ stability culture ”, namely structural reform. finally, the required “ culture of stability ” comprises also a responsible attitude on the side of both employers and employees, in particular in member countries where central wage bargaining prevails. ladies and gentlemen, i am convinced indeed that the solid foundation of the stability architecture and the attitude of a stability culture will certainly make the decisive contribution to continue the success of the emu. now, turning to the second main challenge for the economic and monetary union, i would like to state very clearly that i highly welcome the acceding countries ’ joining the european union. after the fall of the “ iron curtain ” 14 years ago, the central and eastern european countries have undergone an impressive and successful, if often painful, process of transformation and we see their joining our union as a well - deserved and historic step. upon entering the european union, the new member states also become members of the economic and monetary union. while they do not take part in emu to the full extent, as they cannot immediately join the euro area, they are already required to observe a number of obligations embodied in the stability architecture of emu : they generally have to bring into line their economic and monetary policies with the overall goals of emu. their central banks will be represented in the general council of the escb and take part in monetary policy coordination within the eu. the new member states will participate in the coordination of economic policies and in the multilateral fiscal surveillance

council, the greater his or her chance to convince the other members. the experience of the federal reserve system also demonstrates that national – regional, in the us – central banks can find their own market niches in research and analysis. for the oenb, for example, i would see a comparative advantage in studies on the transition countries. 2. public relations agent and interface between the single monetary policy and national economic policies a second important role of national central banks resulting from the first one is to act as public relations agents and interfaces between the single monetary policy on the one hand and the public and economic policy - makers on the other hand. the escb ’ s – as indeed any central bank ’ s – successful implementation of the single monetary policy will depend substantially on its ability to communicate effectively with the general public and economic policy - makers. like any central bank today, the escb will have to keep citizens informed about its strategy and the motives behind any action it takes. this is the only way to ensure that the european public will understand, endorse and support its monetary policy. for a number of reasons, the national central banks will have a central role to play in this context. they are the ones best acquainted with their countries ’ weak spots and special concerns. they speak the language of the people in the countries they represent – both literally and metaphorically. they have enjoyed the population ’ s confidence for many years. they have a close network of formal and informal communication channels. and they have the resources required for public relations work that will reach the general public, a task which may prove time - consuming and make huge demands on an ncb ’ s manpower resources. the national central banks are therefore ideally placed for conducting the escb ’ s public relations activities in the participating countries. care will have to be taken, however, to ensure that such decentralized public relations efforts will still follow a clear common line. a second central aspect of the ncbs ’ intermediary function is their role as a communication channel to national economic policy - makers. it is in the nature of emu that one single monetary and exchange rate policy will apply to the entire euro area. different national monetary policy stances to balance differences in economic developments and structures are no longer possible. the balance must therefore be achieved by means of other economic policy instruments, i. e. the national fiscal, income and structural policies. these areas of economic policy are of course beyond the central banks ’ immediate scope of competence