as regards the design of the transfer mechanism used to validate transactions, the eurosystem will further explore a digital euro solution in which transactions would be made online and would be validated by a third party, as well as a peer - to - peer validated solution for offline payments. 7 in the first quarter of 2023 the european commission is expected to publish a proposal for a regulation to establish and govern essential aspects of the digital euro as a new form of central bank money. 8 for instance, the single euro payments area ( sepa ) has become a model of successful partnership between public institutions and private intermediaries. see panetta, f. ( 2022 ), " bringing european payments to the next stage : a public - private endeavour ", keynote speech at the european payments council's 20th anniversary conference, frankfurt am main, 16 june. 9 settlement can be defined as the completion of a payment transaction with the aim of discharging end users'obligations through the transfer of funds. the two technical tasks that enable transactions to be settled are : i ) settlement validation – checking the payer's money availability / integrity to assess whether such money can be transferred from 5 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches payer to payee ; and ii ) settlement recording – bookkeeping of money, referring to the actual transfer of money from payer to payee and a snapshot of the digital euro in circulation. 10 ensuring privacy requires the recording of holdings / transfers of money to be delinked from the specific payments / users involved. for more information on the foundational privacy options, see panetta, f. ( 2022 ), " a digital euro that serves the needs of the public : striking the right balance ", introductory statement at the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the european parliament, brussels, 30 march ; and ecb ( 2022 ), " digital euro – privacy options ", presentation to the eurogroup, 4 april. 11 for more information on the use cases, see panetta, f. ( 2022 ), " a digital euro that serves the needs of the public : striking the right balance ", introductory statement at the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the european parliament, brussels, 30 march. 12 during the investigation phase, one of the planned activities is a prototyping exercise, to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023. this is a learning exercise to test compatibility with existing systems.

growth has indeed picked up as expected. unfortunately, as i noted earlier, new questions about the economic outlook have been raised by the recent labor market data. is the markedly reduced pace of hiring in april and may a harbinger of a persistent slowdown in the broader economy? or will monthly payroll gains move up toward the solid pace they maintained earlier this year and in 2015? does the latest reading on the unemployment rate indicate that we are essentially back to full employment, or does relatively subdued wage growth signal that more slack remains? my colleagues and i will be wrestling with these and other related questions going forward. conclusion to summarize, i have explained why i expect the u. s. economy will continue to improve and why i expect that further gradual increases in the federal funds rate will probably be appropriate to best promote the fomc ’ s goals of maximum employment and price stability. i have also laid out the considerable and unavoidable uncertainties that apply to both this outlook for the economy and to the appropriate path of the federal funds rate. my colleagues and i will make our policy decisions based on what incoming information implies for the economic outlook and the risks to that outlook. what is certain is that monetary policy is not on a preset course, and that the committee will respond to new data and reassess risks so as to best achieve our goals. references brynjolfsson, erik, and andrew mcafee ( 2014 ). the second machine age : work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. new york : w. w. norton & company. bis central bankers ’ speeches byrne, david m., john g. fernald, and marshall b. reinsdorf ( 2016 ). “ does the united states have a productivity slowdown or a measurement problem? ” brookings papers on economic activity, march 4. cowen, tyler ( 2011 ). the great stagnation : how america ate all the low - hanging fruit of modern history, got sick, and will ( eventually ) feel better. new york : dutton. fernald, john g. ( 2015 ). “ productivity and potential output before, during, and after the great recession, ” in jonathan a. parker and michael woodford, eds., nber macroeconomics annual 2014, vol. 29. chicago : university of chicago press, pp. 1 – 51. gordon, robert j. ( 2016 ). the rise and fall of american growth : the u