four maastricht criteria. to be able to implement the ecb ’ s monetary policy without difficulties, new euro area members should also achieve a minimum degree of real convergence. the ecb will, in fact, give its opinion on the level of real convergence achieved by each country before it is allowed to enter emu. in reflecting on the future evolution of exchange rate policy in malta, the central bank will thus also continue to monitor developments in the rest of the economy, particularly in so far as they affect the sustainability of the maastricht criteria. implications of the single currency for the composition of the external reserves from the date of eu accession until the end of the erm ii phase, malta would qualify as “ a member state with a derogation ”, the lira would remain the national currency and monetary policy would continue to be set by the central bank. as noted above, however, in the process of moving from eu accession to erm ii the euro would progressively gain in importance as the reference currency in the currency basket until it finally ceases to function as a foreign currency on joining the emu. in addition, upon eu accession the central bank will be expected to transfer an amount of external reserves, other than the euro and a number of other specified currencies, to the ecb. in order of time, therefore, the composition of the external reserves of the central bank would change to reflect, first, the move towards a 100 per cent peg to the euro, then the transfer of a portion of the non - euro reserves to the ecb, and lastly the adoption of the euro as the national currency. the bank is currently studying how the necessary adjustments could take place without increasing its exposure to exchange rate risk. given the implications which the simultaneous move out of euro assets by all acceding countries could have for the international value of the euro, moreover, the bank - in common with the central banks of the other acceding countries - would co - ordinate these adjustments with the ecb. operational framework for open market operations and reserve management upon joining emu, the central bank would act as agent for the ecb in the management of the ecb ’ s foreign reserve assets and in the implementation of monetary policy. at this point, the bank would practically act as an interface between those parties eligible to participate in the euro area ’ s open - market operations and foreign exchange transactions and the ecb. this function has implications for both the bank ’

' t need more training - they need retraining so they can obtain new jobs. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the jenga tower whenever i talk about economic prosperity, i like to use the analogy of a jenga tower : each piece is critical to the stability of the whole. take one piece out, and the tower becomes unstable. take the wrong piece out, and the whole tower can collapse. our jenga tower encompasses a whole host of important pieces. job training is one. workers need skills that employers are looking for, and job training needs to be accessible. transportation is another. employees need dependable transportation to get to training programs - and to their jobs. and broadband is sorely needed in many households. i can't tell you how many people said, " good luck getting broadband, " when i told them i was buying a home in columbia county. it's a problem that plagues rural communities throughout the second district. 2 investing in businesses and innovation is also an important piece of our tower. businesses need resources to innovate so they can grow and prosper - and that, in turn, benefits entire communities. all of you here today - representing employers, schools, nonprofits, funders, and community organizations - are key to our tower's foundation. you are what makes our tower strong. workforce development components how do we reinforce our tower? there have been a number of initiatives - and quite a bit of research - regarding workforce development throughout the federal reserve system. this includes a three - volume book called investing in america's workforce, 3 which highlights the ways investments can overcome systemic barriers to employment. while there is no one - size - fits - all approach, there are many promising efforts to learn from. the role of community colleges cannot be overstated. a report released shortly after i came to the new york fed showed that the typical new york state community college engages with more than 100 local employers, spanning every industry sector. 4 more recently, the new york fed hosted an event that explored ways to advance economic prosperity in rural areas. 5 many great insights were shared, including a framework for workforce development programs that contained four principles : 1 ) fashioning a strategy around a community's assets ; 2 ) designing programs that are adaptable ; 3 ) including traditionally marginalized groups in decision - making ; and 4 ) bringing together community, business, and government leaders - like you are doing today. 2 / 3 bis -