the economic and the monetary side. as i said yesterday, on behalf of the governing council, our monetary policy stance is still on the accommodative side and the medium term outlook for price stability remains subject to upside risks. i said that at the same time, the financial market volatility and reappraisal of risk i have described this situation in an earlier intervention. see j. c. trichet ( 2005 ), “ monetary policy and ‘ credible alertness ’, ” speech delivered at the panel discussion “ monetary policy strategies : a central bank panel ” at the symposium sponsored by the federal reserve bank of kansas city, jackson hole, wyoming, 27 august. of recent weeks have led to an increase in uncertainty. given this high level of uncertainty, it is appropriate to gather additional information and to examine new data before drawing further conclusions for monetary policy in the context of our medium term oriented monetary policy strategy. that being said, our “ constant steady alertness ”, and determination to act in the future whenever it is necessary makes no doubt in the mind of observers. by acting in a firm and timely manner we will ensure that risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialise and that medium term inflation expectations remain firmly anchored in line with price stability. particularly in times of high financial market volatility this continued solid anchoring of inflation expectations is one of the most precious assets on which we can draw to rebuild and consolidate the confidence which ultimately will itself permit the return to a normal functioning of the financial markets. i thank you for your attention.

lorenzo bini smaghi : tommaso padoa - schioppa – economist, policymaker, citizen in search of european unity speech by mr lorenzo bini smaghi, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at a conference in memory of tommaso padoa - schioppa, european university institute, badia fiesolana, 28 january 2011. * * * francesco papadia coordinated the preparation of the speech with contributions by ignazio angeloni, ettore dorrucci, mauro grande, gabriel glockler, francesco mongelli, francesco papadia, pierre petit, massimo rostagno, daniela russo, pierre van der haegen, chiara zilioli. it is an honour for me to deliver this speech today in honour and memory of tommaso padoa - schioppa. this speech has been prepared by a group of colleagues who immediately volunteered to contribute as soon as they learned that i had been invited to give such a speech. they were colleagues of tommaso during his time at the ecb and i am very pleased to be their porte - parole today. tommaso padoa - schioppa had a very rich and complex personality, which i can ’ t sum up in a few minutes or a few paragraphs. so i ’ ll talk about him as an economist, a policy - maker and a citizen. the leitmotif in all these areas of tommaso ’ s life was a kantian quest for european unity, a mission to which he dedicated his professional and private life. the economist if there is one trait that stands out throughout tommaso ’ s career, spans all his activities and engagements, all his speeches and books, it is the energy and determination with which he pursued his convictions and causes. once tommaso started “ owning ” a new idea, he would relentlessly seek out all its implications and communicate it to all possible fora and audiences until the impossible became possible, and the inconceivable started making sense. he always did so with rigour, but also with a very personal flair ; some called it the “ tps style ”. tommaso defined himself as a “ practitioner ”, a policy - maker, but his action was always deeply and unambiguously grounded in economic thought. at the same time, he shared keynes ’ view that practical men are often slaves of some defunct economist.