##able covered securities, and thus more loans to collateralise them. second, outright interventions in this market will complement abs purchases by reinforcing the portfolio rebalancing channels of transmission and generating positive spill - overs into other markets and securities. this will further ease funding and credit conditions and will help the transmission of monetary policy. the governing council has emphasised that the combination of measures announced between june and september will have a sizeable impact on the ecb balance sheet, which is expected to move towards the dimensions it used to have at the beginning of 2012. bis central bankers ’ speeches with the purchase programmes, we are starting a transition from a monetary policy framework predominantly founded on passive provision of central bank credit to a more active and controlled management of our balance sheet. conclusion the governing council remains fully determined to counter risks to the medium - term outlook for inflation. therefore, we stand ready to use additional unconventional instruments within our mandate, and alter the size and / or the composition of our unconventional interventions should it become necessary to further address risks of a too prolonged period of low inflation. let me add however that the success of our measures critically depends on a number of factors outside of the realm of monetary policy. courageous structural reforms and improvements in the competitiveness of the corporate sector are key to improving business environment. this would foster the urgently needed investment and create greater demand for credit. structural reforms thus crucially complement the ecb ’ s accommodative monetary policy stance and further empower the effective transmission of monetary policy. as i have indicated now at several occasions, no monetary – and also no fiscal – stimulus can ever have a meaningful effect without such structural reforms. the crisis will only be over when full confidence returns in the real economy and in particular in the capacity and willingness of firms to take risks, to invest, and to create jobs. this depends on a variety of factors, including our monetary policy but also, and even most importantly, the implementation of structural reforms, upholding the credibility of the fiscal framework, and the strengthening of euro area governance. originally, you had also chosen “ inflation differentials in the euro area ” as one of the topics of today ’ s hearing. i hope you will understand that given the important decisions we took in july and september, i have focused my remarks on our monetary policy measures. nevertheless, i of course stand ready and would be very interested to further discuss the matter of persistent inflation differentials, especially given their link to the structural reform agenda

willem f duisenberg : a new future for europe - welcoming the euro banknotes and coins keynote address by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at an awards ceremony and press conference held on the eve of the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins, frankfurt, 31 december 2001. * * * good morning ladies and gentlemen, children welcome to the final countdown to the euro banknotes and coins. of course, new year's eve is traditionally a time to take stock, to look back and to look forward. this year, however, we are very much looking forward - in more than one sense - to the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins. over 300 million europeans will be using them every day from now on, so our countdown is leading towards a new era for europe. that is why i am particularly pleased to have with us today young people from all twelve nations of the euro area - austria belgium, finland, france, germany, greece, ireland, italy, luxembourg, the netherlands, portugal and spain. they, in a very real sense, represent the future of europe itself. and that is also why i wish to extend a special welcome to the winners of our “ be a euro superstar ” competition and their families. all of us here congratulate you. by entering the competition you showed an enthusiasm to learn more about the new money. you set us an example because you took the initiative to familiarise yourself with our new money. you were chosen from among the more than 300, 000 young people who learned about the seven new euro banknotes and eight new euro coins in order to participate in the competition. we congratulate them and their teachers as well. a single currency is a dream which europeans have had for decades. but why did europeans have that dream? and why did europe pursue that dream when no one had ever attempted before to replace a dozen currencies simultaneously with a single currency? perhaps i can best explain that to you if i begin by revealing something which you may have trouble believing. it is this : i, too, was once a child. and the europe into which i was born was a very different place from the europe of today. it was part of a world suffering from a terrible economic depression. it was a continent whose nations were about to learn the terrible lessons of war for a second time in less than half a century. out of the folly of dictatorship and the errors of protectionism was born