conferences proved especially rewarding owing to the exchange of views and research cooperation among experts from transition and industrialized countries. in previous years, the oesterreichische nationalbank co - organized the conference on several occasions with other institutions, such as the imf, the institute of international economics, the banca d ’ italia or the vienna institute for international economic studies. this year, as in 2000, the oesterreichische nationalbank has the joint vienna institute, the major provider of training in transition issues for central bankers, government officials and private sector representatives from countries in central and eastern europe and from former republics of the soviet union, as its co - host. let me at this point give a special welcome to ms. bradley, the director of the jvi, and thank her for the excellent cooperation. the oesterreichische nationalbank and the joint vienna institute look back at a long history of cooperation and this year ’ s conference bears testimony to our close collaboration. the austrian authorities have provided the jvi with a new building that meets the technology and accommodation requirements of a modern training facility. this new location which has been in use since may of this year will guarantee continuity in training for the years to come. we are especially pleased that we have the opportunity to combine the official opening with this year ’ s east - west conference so that we can celebrate this festive occasion together. many of you already joined us yesterday evening for the official opening reception and had a chance to visit the new facilities. now, after almost 15 years since the first seminar in the spirit of the east - west conference, we stand at a point where the most important step of eu enlargement, one major focus of the conference series, is only a few months ahead. in may 2004, ten countries will join the european union. this enlargement round is not only the most important one to date in terms of scale, diversity and economic growth potential, but also - as commissioner verheugen once put it - the best prepared in the history of the european union. the challenges facing europe in the coming years and decades are manifold, complex and exciting. it is these challenges, tasks and prospects that the east - west conference series is designed to address. we are convinced that the conference has played a significant role in providing a forum for discussion among experts and politicians from western europe and the current and future acceding countries, especially in times when the enlargement project that we are facing now

##ecd. all these institutions boast a track record of training and cooperation initiatives and have played a major role in supporting the acceding countries during the transition process. while the formal enlargement of the european union is scheduled for may 2004, an “ enlarged europe ” has already become reality for all of us in many respects. preparations for the final step have been progressing steadily and i can imagine that many representatives from the acceding countries feel as if they were part of the european union already. to mention just one example : delegates from the acceding countries have observer status in all escb and eu committees and thus closely follow the discussions about the future challenges of economic and monetary policy. we appreciate the medium - term prospect of a number of new members joining the euro area. of course, they will have to fulfill the same conditions for emu accession as earlier members did, which are : european union membership, participation in erm ii for at least two years without severe tensions and sustainable compliance with the maastricht criteria. these are sensible and sound milestones on the route to full monetary integration. as to the single monetary policy, sticking to the primary objective of maintaining price stability remains a key factor for the credibility of both emu and the euro. by maintaining price stability, monetary policymakers optimally contribute to enhancing the long - term prospects for economic growth and thus also employment in the euro area. even though the short - term nominal interest rates are at the lowest level in 50 years, inflationary expectations are in line with our definition of price stability. at this juncture, it may, however, be particularly warranted to stress that monetary policy cannot by itself generate lasting and sustainable growth and employment in the euro area. to stimulate the economy and employment, economic policymakers are called upon to devise adequate structural measures that tackle the fundamental weaknesses and set off pressing adjustments. whereas emu entails a common monetary policy for all of its members, fiscal policy is formulated and executed at the national level. fiscal policy must be part of a comprehensive and growth - oriented strategy that focuses on improving the structure of public expenditures. besides, we must continue to credibly meet the provisions of the stability and growth pact, which is crucial for the smooth functioning of emu. let me emphasize that in a monetary union we need fiscal policy rules to prevent one country ’ s unsound fiscal policy from negatively impacting on other members of the monetary union. what is more, our complying with