of the analysis of policy issues relating to financial regulation and supervision, financial stability arrangements ( e. g. financial crisis management and resolution ) and other financial services areas ( e. g. accounting ). this work encompasses the regular monitoring and assessment of developments in these areas as well as contributing to european and international discussions on regulatory and supervisory issues. this three - pronged approach allows us to focus on the distinct but complementary activities related to financial stability surveillance, systemic risk assessment and policy responses, respectively, while still ensuring that interlinkages between these elements are considered in bis central bankers ’ speeches an integrated manner when providing financial stability advice to the decision - making bodies of the eurosystem, the european systemic risk board and to the wider public. the ecb financial stability review is only one example of product where the three elements are developed. we are living difficult times and need state of the art tools and indicators for analysis. as mentioned before, we are currently living in an extremely complex and difficult macroeconomic situation. the financial crisis, if anything, revealed that we need to understand much better the interactions between the financial and real economic sectors. particularly, the concepts and analytical tools underlying financial stability and macro - prudential analysis were found somewhat deficient to properly guide policymakers trying to steer through the crisis. this has underlined the need for “ state - of - the - art ” tools and indicators for conducting financial stability analysis. indeed, especially during the past five years the academic research has very much enhanced the analytical toolbox that we have available to properly analyse and assess the pertinent financial stability issues of the day. further enhancements are, of course, needed and i can only encourage the academic community to continue in this direction as it will greatly help policy makers when trying to understand and ultimately address financial stability issues of a systemic nature. also in this light, it is my expectation that today and tomorrow ’ s conference will provide us with cutting - edge research in the financial stability area ; thus providing a highly useful stock taking of the progress made in recent years, while ideally also pointing towards areas where further improvements are still needed. need to rethink also policies and policy frameworks the conference will conclude with a panel discussion on macro - prudential policies. key questions in this area include the translation of systemic risk analysis into concrete policy actions and the related challenge of developing a well - functioning macro - prudential policy toolkit. in this regard, we have to ensure that once

all, the stability of the institutional architecture is a crucial element of the credibility of the single monetary policy and the public ’ s confidence in our currency. of course, further refinements to the draft constitution are possible, and the ecb has made several suggestions. for example, we strongly believe that price stability should be added to the list of the union ’ s objectives set out in the first part of the constitution. because price stability is of great importance not only for the ecb but for the union as a whole. it ensures confidence in the long - term value of the euro and translates into low and stable medium and long - term market interest rates. it also avoids an abitrary redistribution of wealth, thus it helps to protect the weakest members of society. price stability certainly deserves to be an objective of the european union. furthermore, we would like to see a clarification of the allocation of responsibilities concerning the international representation of the euro. it would also be useful to recognise the widely used term “ eurosystem ”. naturally, in all our comments the ecb does respect the prerogative of national governments and ultimately the citizens to adopt the institutional framework of the eu. at the same time, the ecb has a clear interest for the constitutional process to be a success. in this, i completely concur with what my predecessor, wim duisenberg, repeatedly stressed : for a well - functioning monetary union a strong and effective eu is necessary. emu contributes significantly to the strength of the eu but without a political union and effective institutions the ship will lose balance. therefore, i would like to comment briefly on provisions in the draft constitution that concern the overall political institutions and procedures of the eu. i think, it is to be welcomed that the draft constitution increases the visibility and continuity of the key representatives of the eu. a new elected president of the european council and a strong eu foreign minister will help to put faces to decisions. i also support the extension of qualified majority voting. the eu may not necessarily acquire new competencies. however, the eu should have the means to implement effectively those competencies that have been given to it. qualified majority voting ensures that decisions are actually taken. it is now for the intergovernmental conference to use the convention ’ s draft for finalising the constitution. in this regard, i look forward to listen to the discussions at the first panel of tomorrow ’ s congress. enlargement the upcoming enlargement