. looking ahead, given that it is hard to explain the relative weakness of the euro, it is reasonable to expect that it may in due course recover to more realistic levels ; and there has indeed been some welcome movement in that direction since the spring. whether that will continue is hard to judge, but it would be enormously helpful both to the balance of the uk economy as a whole and to the individual businesses most directly affected. the other major area of uncertainty we face is the encouraging and exciting, if somewhat tantalising, prospect that the uk may come to enjoy, or indeed may already be beginning to enjoy, some of the benefits evident in the us arising from the “ new economy ”. the advances we are seeing in information and computer technology, when combined with the greater flexibility and adaptability our economy has shown in recent years and the wider trading opportunities and greater competitiveness flowing from the globalisation of the world economy, are potentially very exciting because they represent scope for improvements in the supply side of the economy : they hold out the possibility that the economy might be able to grow faster than recent historical experience without jeopardising price stability. the dilemma is that, while the benefits these developments can bring are undoubted, if and when they manifest themselves in enhanced economic performance, the evidence of their doing so in the uk is, so far, piecemeal rather than conclusive. assessing whether these developments are in fact delivering concrete gains requires cool heads and careful judgment. my own view is one of pragmatic optimism. there are promising portents, but relatively little concrete evidence as yet, of the uk achieving the improvements in productivity that have so benefited the us economy in recent years. that does not mean that it will not happen here. but it does mean that we need to be both vigilant to avoid the pitfall of anticipating the gains before they arrive, and alert to capitalising on them if and when they begin to come through. overall, then, the prospect we face is an immensely encouraging one. we need to remain vigilant, but, provided we take no risks with the progress we have made in recent years in maintaining low inflation, the prospect is for continuing growth overall on a basis that can be sustained into the medium term. for the bank of england, our first, and continuing priority, has to be to continue to deliver the stable monetary framework - of interest rates directed at maintaining low inflation - as a platform on which commerce and industry throughout the

the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms. the part involving the bnb was finalised at the end of last year and is due for submission to the national assembly with legal amendments likely to get adopted by the end of this quarter. the bnb governor also outlined the second work block in this direction, on which the bnb is currently working, i. e., the overall framework of determining the amount of funds to be contributed by banks to the single resolution fund and the amount and way of transferring funds from the bank resolution fund in bulgaria, which was set up in 2015, to the single resolution fund. the third work block covers the overall activity of planning and conducting resolution activities, including the distribution of responsibilities and tasks between the single resolution board and the bnb after our country joins the banking union. with regard to the expected effects on the economy and the business, the bnb governor highlighted that it was positive to reaffirm bulgaria ’ s strategic course, and that the process is already being filled with content and specific timeframe. the whole process stands as a positive counterbalance against the more general uncertainty from the global and european economic environment. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches among the more direct positive effects from this first stage on the path to the euro area is the anticipated improvement of the country ’ s credit rating, as announced by the credit agencies, should the process run successfully in the short - term. that would improve the funding conditions in the country. at the same time, the effects of joining erm ii will not be tangible in regard to the macroeconomic policy and neither will our monetary regime change. the bnb governor made it clear that the only exit from the current regime would be the replacement of the lev with the euro at the currently fixed exchange rate. the whole process of accession – first to the banking union and erm ii, and next to the euro area – could not substitute for the good macroeconomic practices and business projects, mr. radev said. a country refusing to comply with this is sure to suffer serious economic and financial difficulties whether inside or outside the euro area. the two proven pillars of good macroeconomic policy in bulgaria are the fiscal stability and the monetary regime stability. should these conditions, together with the continuous improvement of institutions, be present, the preparatory process and subsequently the accession to the euro area would be a catalyst for the social and economic prosperity of our country. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches