reports have provided in - depth – and occasionally somewhat lengthy – treatment of the issues on the agenda. there was one report, however, that i was not too pleased about. discussions in the council have only to a limited extent been interactive, but their scope has depended on the immediate relevance of the topics. gatt negotiations spurred less interest than labour market issues. the section on current economic policy has always attracted attention and has naturally been the most widely discussed section. soon, the economic council will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. this will be an occasion to note that the council has played a useful role and contributed significantly to the economic debate.

role when the euro was introduced, are again forced to play a key role in getting the financial sector ready for the millennium date change. responsibility for the overall coordination of the exchange of information and ideas on this problem among the various sectors of industry, though, is in the hands the federal government. ( to this end, the federal ministry of economics has set up, among other things, a year 2000 expert group in its ministry, in which representatives of the most important sectors of industry and administration affected by the problem are actively participating. ) iii what measures are german banking supervisors taking to help the financial sector achieve a successful crossover to the new millennium? german banking supervisors do not and cannot even dare to guarantee that banks will be fully compliant ; rather the emphasis is on ensuring that • banks ’ senior management have focused on the scale of the problems facing their institution, • they are taking responsibility for solving them, • the banks systematically plan the relevant projects and implement them in a timely manner, and • they have contingency plans in place to rectify any slippage or system failure. since the beginning of their year 2000 activities in 1994 - 95, and particularly since 1997, the bundesbank and the federal banking supervisory office have been leaning on the banking industry to press ahead with its year 2000 preparations with great intensity. therefore the state of the banking industry ’ s preparations for the year 2000 is also a major focal point of ongoing banking supervision. on - site validation procedures through independent auditors during audits of the banks ’ annual accounts for as early as the year 1997 constitute one important point. another very important action is a year 2000 survey conducted in june 1998. the federal banking supervisory office and the bundesbank asked all the approximately 3, 600 credit institutions under supervision and 200 stockbrokers in germany about their year 2000 preparations. the analysis of the preparations is supplemented by personal discussions of banking supervisors with individual credit institutions, particularly those having branches and subsidiaries abroad. immediate actions are taken where the existence of the institution is in jeopardy owing to insufficient preparations for the year 2000. with regard to the timetable, german banking supervisors have not set any official target dates, yet they have made it perfectly clear in discussions and surveys that the external testing of these systems should be completed by mid - 1999. this target date will also be used for the final prudential assessment of the state of preparations of individual credit institutions. although legal problems, particularly liability issues, are being given increased attention in connection with the year 2000