union with the euro has not been kept. will the promise ever be fulfilled? trichet : to fulfil this promise, cooperation between the 27 eu countries, and even more so between the 17 euro countries, must be improved significantly. that much is obvious. better coordination of fiscal and competition policy over time automatically creates greater political cooperation. at present each of us has his or her own opinion on the long - term outlook for political union in europe. as a european citizen, i am convinced that we should head further down the path of significantly closer political union. however, this is not one of the european central bank ’ s responsibilities. jean monnet once commented that he was unsure what the european political institutional framework would look like in the future, but was sure that today ’ s improvements would lay the foundations for the european institutional framework of tomorrow. question : do we need a two - speed europe in order to ensure that the tempo is not dictated by those moving forward more slowly? trichet : the european treaties make no such provision. we have to insist on member states moving forward together. however, it is also quite clear that if you share a single currency, you must make much more of a joint effort and cooperate much more effectively on economic policy. question : what are europe ’ s basic values? trichet : europeans are deeply attached to democracy. they are deeply committed to human rights and the market economy. this is fundamental. europeans also have their own particular way of giving the market economy a social face. this was apparent not least during the crisis. it seems to me that the social market economy, which the germans are so proud of, was also embraced by the other countries a long time ago. as i see it, the most important thing is : we have a shared cultural identity which is developing from shared roots. question : how is this idea of europe being conveyed to younger people? trichet : peace, prosperity and stability can never – never – be taken for granted. every country, community and individual must stand up for it time and again. as europeans, we have more political and geostrategic reasons to forge close ties today than we did right after the second world war. back then, the united states of america was the sole major single market. today we have india, china, brazil and other emerging countries with a bright future in front of them. that ’ s good, and that ’ s exactly what we were aiming for 60 years ago when we created the

world bank. for us europeans it also means uniting even more so as to take into account the existence of these new economic giants. what i would say to young people is : take a look at the many good reasons that we have for uniting europe ; together we can respond far more effectively to tomorrow ’ s challenges. question : your term of office as ecb president ends in october. what has been your most significant or most cherished experience in the course of these eight years? trichet : as president of such an organisation, you are constantly facing new challenges. from the start there was a tremendous team spirit throughout the ecb, even in the most difficult situations. it is gratifying to note that we do not function simply as an institution, but as true europeans who are deeply attached to the historic construction that is the european union. question : what significance does the charlemagne prize have? trichet : everyone at the ecb is moved and impressed that we – especially in today ’ s challenging circumstances – are being awarded this prize. i know all about the prize and have attended in the past. it is a very moving and impressive celebration. we were just talking about europe ’ s roots. in aachen, we are at the very roots of europe. bis central bankers ’ speeches question : how well do you know aachen? trichet : i have been to aachen several times. i am familiar with the big historic buildings, and of course with charlemagne. at the age of ten i won a prize in a school competition : a medal, struck with a portrait of charlemagne. a german emperor, a french emperor – it makes no difference. bis central bankers ’ speeches