burkhard balz : shaping europe together speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, to mark the inauguration of the bundesbank ’ s new representative, madrid, 3 nov 2021. * * * 1 introduction your excellency ambassador dold, ladies and gentlemen, “ ¡ de madrid al cielo! ” – “ from madrid to heaven! ” – is an old spanish saying. and on that note, it gives me great pleasure to be back in madrid and speaking to you here today. my thanks also go to ambassador wolfgang dold for providing the setting for today ’ s event. the federal republic of germany ’ s first chancellor, konrad adenauer, paid a visit to madrid in 1967 at the ripe old age of 91. in a fiery speech, he spoke about his vision of a united europe that shared a common heritage, traditions and culture. a europe made up of just the six member states of the european economic community at that time could not be the end of the story, adenauer said. spain, he stressed, also had to become a major component of what was to become a united europe – because of spain ’ s geographical location, history, tradition and the irreplaceable role it played in european culture. this was to be adenauer ’ s last major public appearance. he would never see part of his vision – spain ’ s accession to the european community in 1986 – become reality. however, much of what adenauer spoke about back then has now come to pass. the process of european integration advanced steadily, and spain is now firmly anchored within the european union. spain was also among the first group of countries to introduce the euro, which is one of the most visible symbols of european integration in our day - to - day lives. this single european currency heralded major changes for the national central banks of member states. they stopped making decisions on their countries ’ currencies when the european central bank ( ecb ) was established in 1998. instead, it is the ecb governing council, a body made up of the ecb executive board plus the governors of the national central banks of the euro area countries, which sets monetary policy for the euro area. a single monetary policy needs to take into account the different economic developments in the member states. this can often be a challenging endeavour, as we clearly saw in the wake of the financial crisis and during the recent covid - 19 pande

andreas dombret : deceptive tranquillity and the threat of reform fatigue – the need for international cooperation opening remarks by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at a joint seminar of the central bank of the republic of turkey and the deutsche bundesbank, istanbul, 4 july 2014. * 1. * * introduction ladies and gentlemen the italian writer edmondo de amicis described istanbul as “ a universal beauty where poet and archaeologist, diplomat and merchant, princess and sailor, northerner and westerner screams with the same admiration ”. as far as i am concerned, he could have added central bankers to the list of those who admire the city of istanbul. which is to say i am happy to be here today at the joint seminar of the central bank of the republic of turkey and the deutsche bundesbank. i would like to thank our turkish colleagues for their hospitality, and to express my gratitude to all who helped make this seminar possible. turkey and germany are closely connected. at the beginning of the 1960s, the first turkish immigrants came to germany, and today, more than 50 years later, around 3 million people of turkish origin live within germany ’ s borders. our two countries are therefore connected not only at the political but also at a very personal level. last year, the central banks of turkey and germany added a new level of partnership. since november, a representative of the bundesbank has been based in istanbul to build networks, to share information and ideas, to explain the bundesbank ’ s positions and to facilitate cooperation. this joint seminar on financial stability is the tangible outcome of these efforts. 2. international cooperation in financial stability today ’ s and tomorrow ’ s seminar covers an issue in which international cooperation is certainly necessary : financial stability is a public good, and a global one at that. the past few years have taught us that financial crises do not stop at national borders. we live in an integrated world, and no country is able to insulate itself any more. that said, we need a global approach to secure financial stability, and the fundamentals of such an approach are personal contacts, open exchange and mutual understanding. for me, one of the main objectives of this seminar is to strengthen these fundamentals. central banks in particular have a natural interest in financial stability, and in many instances they are involved in safeguarding it. nevertheless, it is important to make a distinction between the different roles that central banks have