different in the western balkans region or elsewhere. the best contribution central bis central bankers ’ speeches banks can make is to remain focused on their mandate, and to fulfil that mandate in the context of a sound institutional framework that ensures their independence. in the specific case of the euro area, something more than good policies was needed to overcome the exceptional crisis that was posing challenges to the very foundations of economic and monetary union ( emu ). the authorities have responded to the related challenges by significantly strengthening the institutional architecture of emu. in the field of banking, this has led to a decision on the establishment of a banking union. it will be centred around two main pillars, a single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ) and a single resolution mechanism ( srm ). it will contribute to the stability of the euro area financial system, help to overcome financial fragmentation and, therefore, also facilitate the conduct of monetary policy. now that political agreement has been reached, we are currently in the implementation phase. for the ecb, this means preparing for the operational start of the ssm in november 2014. to this end, we are currently undertaking a comprehensive assessment of euro area banks ’ balance sheets. this exercise will be instrumental in restoring confidence in the euro area ’ s financial system and will thereby support a revival of bank lending. it will thus also have implications for the western balkans. moreover, given the prominent role of euro area banks in the banking sector of this region, the establishment of the ssm will further intensify our institutional relations. for a substantial proportion of the foreign - owned banks operating in the western balkans, the ecb will become the home supervisor. in addition to enhancing financial stability in the euro area, and thus the home region of parent banks with subsidiaries in the western balkans, the ssm has the potential to facilitate home - host country cooperation in banking supervision. host supervisors in the region will have only one counterpart as home supervisor for a large part of their banking sector, instead of several, as is currently the case. in order to reap the benefits of this simplification, appropriate mechanisms for cooperation between the ssm and local authorities will need to be developed. let me conclude by saying that, as i have highlighted earlier, we not only have a number of policy challenges in common, but also share a common future. with the programme of technical cooperation that we are launching today, and for which we will be signing the first interim report adopted by its programme steering committee,

yves mersch : launching the ecb - coordinated technical cooperation with central banks of the western balkans introductory remarks by mr yves mersch, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the press conference on the opening of cooperation programme in western balkans, tirana, 17 april 2014. * * * dear governors, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure for me to be in tirana today to launch the ecb - coordinated technical cooperation programme with central banks of the western balkan region. let me first thank governor fullani for his warm hospitality. i am pleased that governor fullani, governor hamza and vice governor bajrami could all join me for this occasion today. this is the seventh ecb - coordinated programme for the benefit of central banks of eu candidate countries and potential candidates from the western balkans. i think this underscores the commitment of my central bank colleagues in the region to the process of european integration and to the further development of their institutions along the path towards european central banking standards. the current programme has again received funding from the european commission, through the instrument for pre - accession assistance. i would like to express my gratitude to the european commission, represented here by mr rumbold, for the continuous support of these activities. the programme is also a re - affirmation of the strong commitment of the ecb and the entire central banking community in the eu to their counterparts in the western balkan region. since 2007, the ecb, in partnership with the national central banks of the eurosystem and the european system of central banks ( escb ), has conducted one regional and five bilateral technical cooperation programmes. the programme that we are launching today will be implemented with the support of experts from 11 central banks in the eu, namely those of bulgaria, the czech republic, germany, france, italy, malta, the netherlands, austria, portugal, slovenia and slovakia. the number of partner national central banks in this programme is a clear indication that our institutions have not become inward - looking, despite the major challenges faced over the past few years. i would like to use this opportunity to thank the experts from all central banks for their dedication and commitment in taking on this additional assignment. the purpose of the programme is to prepare the central banks of the region for membership of the escb, once their respective countries join the eu. we are starting the programme here in tirana today. over the next six months, the experts from our side will conduct an