as a policy advisor and, finally, as a policy maker. his pragmatic approach to monetary policy was based on a number of strong convictions : the desirability of stable money, the need to take a medium - term policy perspective and the usefulness of exposing theories to the rigour of real - world data in order to draw inferences about their reliability for policy decisions. as regards his work at the ecb, i would conclude that otmar issing was the brain behind the ecb ’ s monetary policy strategy in the first years of emu. or, in other words, during this time, he was the implicit third pillar of this strategy. again and again, he has stressed the utmost importance of such an explicit strategy for monetary policy. in doing so, he has been quite successful in implementing a policy focusing on steadiness and medium - term objectives, thus fostering stability and hence the foundation of the policy itself. in addition, the eurosystem ’ s monetary policy strategy has another advantage : monetary policy becomes largely independent of the influence of individual policy makers. to a certain degree, an explicit monetary policy strategy leads to a “ depersonalisation ” of monetary policy. in this vein, monetary policy is likely to gain steadiness and predictability even at times when the composition of the policy making body changes. against the background of otmar issing ’ s prominent influence over the last eight years, this conclusion might seem paradox at first sight, but let me elaborate. precisely because otmar issing has been so successful in nurturing the eurosystem ’ s monetary policy strategy and thus the underlying basis for the stable euro, his forthcoming retirement at the end of may will not change the fundamental principles of the single european monetary policy.

these topics. the large number of distinguished speakers ( also at today ’ s conference ), the large number of interested participants and the wide press coverage tell me that i do not need to elaborate further on the relevance of these issues for european monetary policy. i would, rather, like to stress another facet : eight annual ecb watcher conferences also mean eight consecutive appearances of otmar issing at this event. therefore, i would like to take a closer look at otmar's role in these conferences. otmar issing ’ s role from the very beginning, the history of the ecb watcher conference has been inextricably linked to otmar issing. firstly, because i organised the first conference in 1999 in close cooperation with him. secondly, because he has participated in every conference since it was established, providing explanations, comments, replies, opening or concluding remarks. a pretty good track record! throughout all the years as the ecb ’ s chief economist, otmar issing has always stressed the importance of communication and transparency for an effective monetary policy. his annual participation in the watcher conferences shows just how rigorously he personally sticks to these two principles. his unbroken participation is a concrete example of central bank transparency and communication policy in action. it also reflects otmar issing ’ s general open - mindedness towards sceptics and outright critics alike. as an example, let me briefly recall the controversial issue about whether or not the eurosystem should use its two - pillar - strategy for conducting monetary policy, or, more generally speaking, whether or not monetary aggregates should play a prominent role in monetary policy, a question of ongoing relevance. in this context, substantial criticism has been voiced in recent years – not least during previous watcher conferences. nevertheless, otmar issing always chose to face his critics directly at such events in order to patiently and repeatedly explain the whys and wherefores underpinning the eurosystem ’ s current monetary policy strategy. let me conclude my short review with the following, rather personal thoughts regarding otmar issing ’ s legacy. at each of the previous watcher conferences, i was impressed by otmar ’ s mild - mannered, calm style coupled with his resolute attitude. otmar made it a habit to deal personally with each challenge. this commitment and tenacity is probably why he has enjoyed such an outstanding career as one of the few economists who have been exceptionally successful as an academic,