##f, a very different institution, and the ecb. “ fast ”? so you mean without necessarily waiting for a vote in the german bundestag to save, for example, an italian bank? in fact, it ’ s vital for the euro area to be able to take decisions fast. the ecb can do this. the 25 members of our governing council may have their differences, but we analyse, we debate, we try to build a consensus and, finally, we take a decision on which nobody has a veto. by contrast, the crisis management system in the euro area is essentially intergovernmental. this method carries a high economic cost because it ’ s a procrastination machine. look at the greek crisis, which is finally coming to an end after eight years! and it turns every decision into a zero - sum game. the challenge for the european council, at the end of this week, will be to move from a europe of horse - trading to a europe that builds its own future. europe has to show that it is taking its destiny into its own hands. last thursday you took part in the eurogroup meeting on greece. are you satisfied with the agreement? will the debt relief granted be enough? this is a turning point for greece and for europe. greece can now free itself from european stewardship. the sacrifices made by greek society, supported by european solidarity, have paid off. for those who have doubts about this solidarity, i would like to point out that europe provided greece with funding of €245 billion! i particularly admire the determination and courage of the greek finance minister, euclid tsakalotos. greece will also get a clear boost from the debt relief that was promised a long time ago by the european governments. the ecb was clearly in favour of this. the measures decided upon by the eurogroup go in the right direction, because in the medium term they will make greece ’ s debt more sustainable and in the long term the ministers declared their willingness to take additional measures should the need arise. but let ’ s not be naive : greece will move from a dialogue with the european institutions and the imf to a dialogue with the financial markets, which will be neither easier nor more pleasant. to maximise its chances, the country must continue with its reforms and stick to a prudent budgetary policy. greece failed to leave the euro area in 2015 and has been through a deep recession. if you could go back

further financial integration. interchange fees let me conclude by touching on interchange fees, the topic of today ’ s workshop. the fees have turned out to be a rather controversial issue, not only in europe but also worldwide. the eurosystem ’ s position is neutral on interchange fees. but clarity is needed so that banks and other payment service providers can decide on future investments. that clarity has now been provided in the commission ’ s proposal for an interchange fee regulation, which we very much welcome. even with a cap on interchange fees, banks should seize the opportunities that a “ sepa for cards ” offers. the growth potential for cards at the point of sale is still substantial in europe, especially in some countries. the favourable outlook for card transactions is a business case in itself, even for a scheme that operates with a low interchange fee. building the european union is a slow and laborious but ultimately rewarding process. the migration to sepa credit transfer and direct debit marks the completion of another element in that construction, and there are more to come. i am sure that today ’ s workshop will give us new insights and help pave the way for further design and construction work, which is of such value to the people of this continent. finally, a word of thanks to the colleagues of the banca d ’ italia for their warm welcome and hospitality. and, of course, thank you all for attending this workshop today. unfortunately, i soon have to leave for frankfurt, so let me wish you “ buon appetito ” and a fruitful afternoon session. see http : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / pub / pdf / other / virtualcurrencyschemes201210en. pdf. bis central bankers ’ speeches