will be withdrawn after a peaceful settlement of the geopolitical situation. in addition to this public – or geopolitical – fragmentation, there is a risk of “ private ” fragmentation through the disorderly development of crypto - assets, among which the somewhat misnamed “ stablecoins ”. as demonstrated by the turmoil on financial markets in recent weeks, they are possibly very unstable. we have long stressed the risks of such speculative investments. but it ’ s not enough : this must be taken as a powerful wake - up - call for a global regulation, which is urgently needed. mica on the european side paves the right way. crypto assets could disrupt the international financial system if they are not regulated, overseen and interoperable in a consistent and appropriate manner across jurisdictions. this is why i have spoken of the danger of fragmentation in payments akin to the middle age, with so - called “ cryptocurrencies ” having limited constituencies and acceptance. 3. but do we agree about the solutions? in principle yes : in order to avoid repeating past mistakes, we would need a collective momentum towards a stable and market oriented multipolar international financial system. a more multipolar ifs would help deal with the modern version of the triffin dilemma : the supply of usd global safe assets is limited by the fiscal capacity of the us, while demand for them is bound to page 4 sur 7 increase. it could also offer more monetary policy independence to emerging markets, by reducing the influence of us financial and real cycles spillovers. that said, the political conditions for such a major shift are not very favourable, to say the least : imagining the us, china and other major emerging economies converging today on a new ifs, while they didn ’ t for decades, could appear as utopian. let me be more positive : we need to keep this concept of a more balanced multipolar system on the horizon, at least as a “ creative frontier ”. and we europeans need to be active and committed on what depends on us. to move towards a more resilient global system, the euro should play a more important international role. it is a currency in a jurisdiction with solid democratic and stable institutions, including independent central banks and the rule of law. the euro is relying now on a more than 20 - year old solid track record of stability : it is backed by a soft power based on the respect of international rules, multilateralism and openness.

the euro is also at the centre of broad international trade links. it is at least a credible complement to the dollar as a safe asset. ii. promoting the international role of the euro as a pillar of monetary cooperation from the inception of the euro and during the last two decades, the eurosystem adopted a neutral stance with regard to the development of the international role of the euro. it does not belong to the treaty ’ s objectives : the euro was created for internal purposes, to avoid exchange fluctuations within europe and accelerate economic convergence between member states, not primarily to act as an international currency. economic developments since 1999 have alleviated concerns voiced at that time about a potential loss of monetary policy control in case of a swift internationalization of the euro. a stronger international role of the euro would now be associated with more monetary policy autonomy and reduced impacts of exchange rate shocks on inflation. after a decade in existence, by the time of the gfc, the euro had become the second most used currency globally. but since then its growth has stalled. today it still accounts page 5 sur 7 for roughly 20 % of global currency holdings in central banks as well as just short of 20 % of global debt and global loans. according to swift data, almost 40 % of transactions are denominated in euro. it truly is the second most important currency in the world after the dollar. the european commission has recently taken steps to further strengthen the role of the euro, which are most welcome. iv among other things, the commission has launched the capital markets recovery package that introduced targeted amendments needed to develop euro - denominated derivatives for energy and raw materials. 1. supplying euro denominated safe assets and enhancing capital markets union an international currency is only as strong as the safe assets it can offer. the euro sovereign debt market is still fragmented and only a few member states are issuing global assets in a sufficient quantity. in this regard, there have been interesting recent developments in europe. in june 2021, europe launched next generation eu ( ngeu ) which will raise over 800 billion euros through a joint issue of european bonds. more broadly, the deepening of european capital markets union should, at end, be instrumental. v it would help both for the allocation of capital within the euro area and for the stability and balance of the international financial system. such an initiative is important as we face new policy challenges. the transition to a greener economy will require immense financing, and the digital transformation will also require both public