participated in imf ( international monetary fund ) discussions and resolutions on support programmes for euro area countries. that was your contribution to overcoming the challenges posed by the european sovereign debt crisis. and now we are facing another major challenge – in germany, europe and worldwide. 3 economy activity i ’ m sure everyone in this room was horrified by the invasion of ukraine by russian troops almost four weeks ago. conditions in the country have since evolved into a humanitarian crisis. and there is no end in sight. the german federal government has clearly condemned this attack on an independent sovereign state : nothing and no one can justify it. the bundesbank supports the federal government. we are thus implementing the agreed financial sanctions against russia in germany. and i would like to add that i wholeheartedly support the sanctions. in our role as banking supervisors, and given our financial stability mandate, we are also keeping a close eye on current developments at banks and on financial markets. and we are doing our part to ensure the stability of the financial system. at the same time, we are assessing the economic repercussions of this war for germany and for the euro area – its implications for economic activity, price developments and monetary policy. while the unknowns make it impossible to do so reliably at present, we can already see that the economic effects may vary considerably depending on developments. before the war started, the economy was on a fairly good track. in germany, it saw strong growth last year of 2. 9 %. however, this did not fully make up for the downturn caused by the pandemic. in the euro area, on the other hand, the economy was already back at its pre - crisis level, following growth of 5. 3 % last year. for spring 2022, the economy in germany and in the euro area was expected to flourish, once the omicron wave subsided and coronavirus rules were relaxed. the russian attack on ukraine has now darkened the economic outlook. three main factors are important here. first, the war has driven energy prices up dramatically. oil and gas prices have reached exceptionally high levels at times and could go up even further. losses of confidence as well as purchasing power will potentially constrain private consumption. second, the war plus sanctions and retaliation measures are directly hampering trade with russia and with ukraine. we are thus experiencing supply interruptions, the effects of which we have seen not least in the manufacture of passenger cars in wolfsburg. and this is

you spent as president of this regional office. for you discharged the many and varied tasks belonging to a president ’ s portfolio with a great deal of elan and palpable pleasure. it was your desire to convey the bundesbank ’ s positions on issues of monetary policy and stability policy in your region. i ’ ve heard that you would, ideally, have left no invitation to an event unaccepted. and that certainly kept your team here on their toes. but everybody knew this much : a central bank can only guarantee price stability – its primary mandate – if it has the trust and support of the people. but trust is predicated on knowledge : in this case, knowledge of fundamental economic interrelationships – and knowledge of the very particular value of a stable currency. and trust flourishes especially freely when you can exchange ideas at a personal level. it was with verve that you tended to both aspects : you imparted knowledge and you entered into dialogue, talking with representatives from the economic, political and administrative spheres as well as with the general public. you gave out invitation upon invitation, to forum bundesbank talks, events hosted at all branches in your region, to the annual reception in hanover, regional banking evenings, expert dialogues, press conferences and two open days in hanover, each of which was attended by more than 5, 000 people. the encounters and opportunities for sharing that you had there were particularly important to you. and you also enjoyed using art to open the doors to the bundesbank. one example was the time you inaugurated the freshly restored fountain designed by emil cimiotti, a sculptor and native of lower saxony, situated in the brunnenhof courtyard on baringstrasse. in your speech, you stressed that too much water from the fountain can be harmful, specifically if it ’ s left to spray out unchecked, while too little water robs the fountain of its vitality. with these musings on the nefarious effects of too little and too much, perhaps you also had monetary policy in mind, too. my dear mr von stenglin, you not only invited people into the bundesbank, but also spent time out and about in the region, giving talks at institutions and associations, speaking with expertise and – something which is also a gift – with charm, too. in this way it ’ s likely that you made quite some contribution to fostering that trust which a clear majority of citizens have in the bun