significant improvement in european budgetary discipline has indeed been attained in the course of time. it might in this respect also be illustrative to look at the united states, which experienced a downward swing in their federal budget deficit of 6. 5 percentage points between 2000 and 2003, although this was partly due to special factors, such as the war in iraq. how can we solve these problems, or in any case make sure that they do not arise again in the future? in 1992, the eu treaty that laid down the path towards economic and monetary union was signed in the dutch city of maastricht. although it was clear that a potential conflict exists between a single monetary policy and decentralised fiscal policies, it was also clear at that time that establishing a political union, or in other words an independent european fiscal authority, to supplement the monetary union was a bridge too far. instead, a rather artificial solution in the form of the stability pact was created. however, the experiences with implementing the pact over the last few years have made it very clear that governments are reluctant to accept constraints on national sovereignty through limitations on budgetary policy. this holds especially true in times of subdued economic growth. discussions about fundamentally improving the adherence to the european budgetary rules are in my view therefore inextricably linked to discussions about curtailing national budgetary sovereignty, and as such to forming a political union. although i realize that this obviously will be a realistic solution only in the long term, we should not hesitate to bring this under discussion. to a certain extent, the discussion on the appropriate role of national budgetary sovereignty has already started. recently the european commission decided to challenge the decision by the council of european finance ministers in november to deviate from the stability pact, by bringing legal action before the european court of justice. the reason for this decision is not to challenge the substance of the decision, as in fact there is no major difference between the budgetary consolidation path under the proposals by the european commission and under the eventual recommendations by the european council. rather, the aim is to seek legal clarity regarding the fundamental question that emerged from the council decision in november, that is whether the european budgetary framework ultimately is of a supranational or of an intergovernmental character. of course, a fundamental discussion like this should not distract us from the search to find solutions to improve the enforcement of the european budgetary rules in the shorter term. a contribution towards such a solution is to deny

technology investments to the value of that data. • tie information technology investments to factors that provide strategic value. • understand the business issues that affect the organisations you serve to the point that they become second nature. • develop expertise in areas of business so that you can better contribute to the enhancement of the various business functions in your organisation through the application of information technology. • remain in a continuous state of dialogue with various areas of the organisation to facilitate shared learning that can eventually translate in the deployment of information technology in a manner that is in line with the organisation ’ s strategic directions. • capture the value of information technology - related projects, and adjust these projects wherever necessary, to ensure that they deliver promised value. • create a learning environment where the information technology function and other areas of the organisation provide feedback to each other which is then used to inform information technology action plans that are intended to provide strategic value. • consider the business implications of systems. how could the technology be used to execute / enable important business processes? in closing, i wish to reiterate my expectation that the presentations, deliberations and workshop over the next five days would equip you with greater insights that will enable you to bis central bankers ’ speeches contribute to your organisations making better use of their existing and future information technology investments. best wishes for fruitful deliberations. may your stay here with us be a happy and memorable one! to our visitors i trust that you will use every opportunity to experience the warmth of guyanese hospitality. welcome once again to all of you. i now declare this 22nd conference of regional central banks ’ information systems specialists open. bis central bankers ’ speeches