that it is not too bold to consider a european finance ministry, but rather too bold not to consider creating such an institution. this finance ministry would be only one element of the european future institutional framework. exactly how these new institutions would eventually evolve one cannot say. as jean monnet once wrote : « personne ne peut encore dire aujourd ’ hui la forme qu ’ aura l ’ europe que nous vivrons demain, car le changement qui naitra du changement est imprevisible ». 1 we have several federal or confederal institutional frameworks in today ’ s world. to name only a few, the united states of america, the federal republic of germany and the swiss confederation. the european union is unique in its past history, in its present nature, in its future ambition. it will have to invent its own concept. but one could imagine that in the future european institutional framework, the council might evolve into the senate of the union, the european parliament into the lower house, the commission into the executive and the european court of justice into the judiciary – each time for the part of sovereignty that is shared. and i have no doubt, taking into account the long and proud history of the european countries, that “ subsidiarity ” will play a major role in the future europe – very significantly more than in the present models of federation. as i said, these are personal remarks of a european citizen. the future of europe is in the hands of its democracies, in the hands of the people of europe. our fellow citizens will decide. they are the masters. in any case, whatever the future institutions of europe will be, an essential element would be the emergence of a truly pan european public debate. as europeans we connect deeply with our nations, traditions and histories. these are europe ’ s roots. but we also need to extend our branches more widely. to do this, the euro area needs media, in the broadest sense of that word, that allow citizens to take a deeper interest each other. media that provide regular information on events beyond national borders. media that permit citizens to debate and exchange. and media that are not constrained by language barriers. all we need is a pan european public debate, a gemeinsamer offentlicher raum, a debat publique pan - europeen that allows europeans to appreciate the wider community of which they are part – a community where their interests are

sabine lautenschlager : state of play in the european banking sector speech by ms sabine lautenschlager, member of the executive board of the european central bank and vice - chair of the supervisory board of the european central bank, at the iif annual meeting, washington dc, 13 october 2017. * * * it is quite difficult to present my views on the state of the euro area banking sector in such a short statement – there are more than 100 large and medium - sized banks in 19 countries, with substantial differences between them. but what i can say is that the banks are in a better position than they were. they are better capitalised and have improved their liquidity situation and their governance. they are making slow but steady progress in tackling all the well - known challenges and adapting their business models. still, supervisors are paid to demand more. so we want quite a few banks to adapt more quickly to the new environment. digital technology is rapidly gaining traction in the banking world. it brings new opportunities but also new competitors for each and every bank. and we are seeing more and more banks incorporating a digital dimension into their strategies. however, they are doing so at varying speeds and we are not always satisfied with their progress. all banks need to focus on transforming their services more quickly. interest rates are still low, weighing on the profits of many banks. this situation makes it imperative for them to adjust their business models. some banks still need to diversify their sources of income, manage their costs more diligently and become more efficient. legacy assets, such as non - performing loans, are still high in some parts of the banking sector in europe. they depress banks ’ profits and curb their ability to finance the economy. the good news is that we are seeing some progress here. the proportion of non - performing loans in the euro area fell from more than 7 % in the second quarter of 2015 to below 6 % at the beginning of 2017. still, i think the banks need to be more ambitious. we are not satisfied with the strategy of each and every bank. some need to act more decisively – and we will push them to do so. and finally, brexit is on the horizon, and will have a major impact on the banking sector. most of all, it will affect those banks which access the european market from the united kingdom and vice versa. they have to prepare themselves for other forms of market access – and quickly. all this