benoit cœure : interview in borsen - zeitung interview with mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in borsen - zeitung, conducted by mr mark schrors, and published on 15 august 2015. * * * mr cœure, the last two bailout programmes have failed to get greece back on its feet. what makes you think that this time everything will be different and this third programme will turn greece into a “ thriving economy ”, to use the expression recently employed by mario draghi, president of the european central bank ( ecb )? first of all, you have to remember where we started in 2010. back then, the greek economy was enormously imbalanced and inefficient. it was – and remains – clear that the process of getting greece back on its feet will be long and hard. however, we should also not forget that at the end of last year greece was gradually recovering. positive growth was being forecast for 2015, and the banks had been able to obtain capital from the markets in 2014. but then alexis tsipras ’ leftist government came to power. this year has seen a lot of trust destroyed, and reforms have been reversed. that has been a real setback. but greece can build on what it has achieved under the first two programmes, and the new memorandum of understanding has everything it needs to give the greek economy considerable support. i would like to stress two things in this regard. first, we have the right mix as regards fiscal measures. ambitious medium - term budgetary objectives have been set, without the economy being strangled in the short term. second, there is a strong focus on structural reforms. looking back, one could say that if there had been more focus on structural measures – such as the reform and opening - up of markets, improved tax collection and the fight against interest groups – from the start, that would have reduced the burden that adjustment placed on the most vulnerable in society and speeded up greece ’ s recovery. so, the first two programmes were poorly constructed? no, i would not say that. the information we had back then was completely different. now that greece has accepted these reforms, it is important that they are implemented in full. this is not a short - term solution aimed at obtaining money to cover the next few weeks. it should be seen as what it is : a three - year programme aimed at getting the country back

, and for that reason it is very important that society accepts the values and behaviour observed in the economy. you ’ ve spent the last 40 years working in the public sector in the area of monetary policy – first in paris for france, and now in frankfurt for the euro area. can you tell us something : what is money, the nature of money? money has an essential function. it acts as a store of value, it is a means of exchange and it allows people to calculate the price of everything. money is an inseparable element of civilisation, as it allows the division of labour. it is only thanks to money that we have cities at all. i would compare money to a poem, since a poem always retains its structure, just as a gold coin always retains the image stamped on it. once formed – whether written or minted – these two things should not and cannot be altered. goethe gave considerable thought to this issue, as you can see from reading faust. to what extent are you personally fascinated by money? i, personally, am not fascinated by wealth. in germany we say that money rules the world. would you, as a man of money, confirm that? no, i would not say that at all. ideas rule the world – hopefully. money is a means, not an end ; an instrument, not the ultimate goal ; un moyen, pas une fin. bis central bankers ’ speeches your wife recently said on german television that the question of whether she was pleased that her husband ’ s work was coming to an end was a “ delicate and difficult question ”. she also said that she hopes you find something to occupy yourself with as soon as possible. what does madame trichet mean by that? did she really say that? she knows me well. i will certainly remain active. but i will wait until i have left the ecb before deciding what exactly i will do. does she perhaps mean that jean - claude trichet cannot be happy without work? you can trust my wife on that! mr trichet, why is your signature on the euro banknotes? the euro banknotes are issued by the ecb. i therefore sign the euro banknotes as president of the ecb, on behalf of the governing council. currently there are around 14 billion euro banknotes in circulation. bis central bankers ’ speeches