still much needs to be done to feel the right degree of comfort. some final words i would direct towards the threat of protectionism. an enormous risk for the global economy is the temptation to shed the commitment to multilateralism and embark on protectionism. beggar thy neighbor policies are quite perilous, as history amply shows. it is true that trade needs to be both free and fair, that commitments made within the framework of the world trade organization and other fora need to be observed. unless we defend open markets, we invite big commercial conflicts and a proliferation of lose - lose situations. allow me to conclude my short address by pointing out that as a romanian official i am confident that important steps have been already taken to ensure a more close cooperation in order to solve the afore mentioned issues. as you know, romania holds at the moment the presidency of the council of european union and good work has already been done by our team in bucharest and brussels. they held 15 working parties in the council, negotiated in 18 trilogues with the european parliament, attended over 30 technical meetings, among bilateral meetings, informal consultations with the parliament and the commission. they have concluded the work and agreed on two files ( risk reduction measures – the banking package and pan - european pension product ). there has been a political agreement with the parliament on two other files ( cross border distribution of funds and european market infrastructure regulation ( emir ) refit ). and i understand they have reached a general approach on the european system of financial supervision ( esfs ) file, at the council level. i am sure we will keep up the good work and efforts on every side will have a positive outcome. the future might be uncertain, but we can surely try to better prepare for it. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

mugur isrescu : 30 years of partnership between the world bank group and romania speech by mr mugur isrescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the 30 years of partnership between the world bank group and romania event, bucharest, 7 november 2022. * * * vice president bjerde, directors vincelette, akhalkatsi and karadsheh, prime minister of romania, vice - chairman of the senate, vice - chairman of the chamber of deputies, presidential adviser, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, next month we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the accession of romania to the world bank and the international monetary fund ( imf ) in 1972. romania was the first among the countries of the former communist bloc that joined the international financial institutions. unfortunately, during the 1980s the authorities in bucharest had weakened the relationship between romania and these two institutions, almost close to severing all ties. the normalization of the relationship, after the fall of the communist regime, led to a new beginning. the opening of the world bank's office in october 1991 – the moment we are celebrating today – signifies a milestone that marked the start of a new historical point of reference in romania's relations with the world bank and our transition towards a market economy. the 1990s were perhaps the most difficult ones. we had benefited from the direct support of the imf and the world bank. i recall that, shortly after my appointment as governor in september 1991, i received, from a world bank expert, the first report regarding the transition from a mono - banking system, common to a centrally planned economy, to the two - tiered banking system ( central banks – commercial banks ) we have in place today. truth be told, if i were to mention all the partners and friends from the world bank, with whom i have worked over the past 30 years, i would exceed my allotted time. the world bank provided support on multiple fronts. this has been highlighted by the previous speakers and i will not repeat what has already been said. however, there is something that i would like to emphasize. the transition from a centralized economy to a market economy entailed not only loans and financing, but also new laws, building new institutions and good practices. access to the world bank knowledge and expertise helped romania to implement the reforms that followed. 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches in this context, i would mention two of the world bank's programs,