policy offered an opportunity to design the operational framework afresh, ensuring that best practice was adopted throughout the euro area. the resulting framework provides for a broad set of instruments and procedures to implement monetary policy. thus far, this framework has worked very effectively in clearly signalling the stance of monetary policy and containing the volatility of short - term market interest rates. at the heart of the framework is the so - called “ corridor ” for the overnight market interest rate, which is defined by the interest rates on the deposit and marginal lending facilities. with the help of the minimum reserve system, the behaviour of the market rate within this corridor is smoothed, without recourse to fine - tuning interventions by the authorities that might be prejudicial to the market orientation of the system. with these features, the ecb has a very simple but probably also one of the most modern operational frameworks in the world. concluding remarks earlier this month i participated in a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the nationale bank van belgie / banque nationale de belgique. today we celebrate the banque de france ’ s bicentenary. it would have been extremely foolish if the eurosystem had not exploited the accumulated wisdom and experience gained from the long and distinguished history of these institutions and those of the other ncbs. as i have argued today, both the eurosystem ’ s strategy and its operational framework have exploited this wisdom to the full, while recognising the new and different challenges faced by the single monetary policy in the euro area. let me therefore finish by again congratulating the bank on its bicentenary, by expressing my gratitude to all those who have dedicated their time and effort to the achievement of monetary union and, finally, by wishing the bank another 200 successful years - and more - as an important and vital component of the eurosystem.

christine lagarde : how can a united europe meet the challenges it faces today? opening remarks by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, during a dinner on " uniting europe ", world economic forum, davos, 23 january 2020. * * * this year marks the 70th anniversary of the schuman declaration, which first put forward the idea of a single authority to govern the production of coal and steel in europe. robert schuman ’ s method for building europe was clear : “ europe will not be made all at once ”, he said, but “ through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity ”. his idea was that, by taking deliberate policy steps to become interdependent – like sharing raw materials – european countries would become inseparable. and indeed they have. we have become both safer and richer. the formation of the single market gives every eu citizen average welfare gains of €840 each year1. today, schuman ’ s sequence is, in some ways, being reversed. interdependence is now being driven increasingly by a fast - changing global environment – and policymaking has to catch up. european countries have joint exposures to the climate, to the global economy, to multinational firms, to foreign powers. and now we need to work together to address them. so what does that mean practically? there are three key aspects. the first is demonstrating what is needed to make openness globally sustainable. the eu is the most advanced example of cross - border economic and political integration because it has invested in institutions to ensure fairness – a single court and a single set of rules. and when new forces have arisen with the potential to undermine openness – the threat of competitive devaluations or of financial spillovers – europe has not responded by raising barriers. rather it has sought – and is seeking – to fill the gaps in its economic and monetary union with institutional innovations like the banking union. at a time when trade tensions are rising even as global institutions are being weakened, these examples can provide useful lessons. the second aspect is leveraging the areas where the eu is powerful, namely the single market. the eu has become a leader in ensuring strict and fair competition laws which are enforced at arm ’ s length2. this is crucial at a time when winner - takes - all dynamics are increasing in many markets, which raises concerns about firms ’ political and market power. for example, in 2018 the average