4 ] against this background, it cannot come as a surprise that 95 % of surveyed german political and business leaders currently believe that germany is lagging behind when it comes to digitalisation. [ 5 ] german scepticism towards digitalisation may be a factor here. in the same survey a year earlier, only a minority of respondents associated the term “ digitalisation ” with “ future prosperity ” – a mere 29 %. i wonder whether we are making life difficult by seeing the glass as being half empty instead of half full. personally, i prefer to see the glass as half full. my advice is to recognise the potential of digital ‐ isation – as an opportunity for greater productivity and prosperity. artificial intelligence, cloud com ‐ puting and robotics promise to lend a new boost to productivity. [ 7 ] if we were to place a focus on digital skills training in our education system, this would represent a major step towards reaping the benefits of digitalisation. the same goes for the professional development of employees as part of lifelong learning. this will improve the opportunities for productivity growth – as well as the oppor ‐ tunities for each and every individual in the labour market. finally, specific managerial skills will also be needed to convert digitalisation into productivity gains. studies suggest that us ( united states ) firms ’ management practices in this field are better than those of their european counterparts. let me add, in rounding off, that central banks are pushing ahead with digitalisation in their field, too. for the eurosystem, the digital euro is the showpiece example. it can help open the door to further productivity gains in the financial sector. i am looking forward to the discussion on this topic in the second panel. 3 claudia buch the first panel will be looking at digital finance more broadly. it will focus on the interplay between risk and resilience, and how digitalisation affects this trade - off. claudia buch will be introducing this panel momentarily. but before she does that, i would like to say a few words about her achieve ‐ ments at the bundesbank – even if she ’ s not all that keen on being eulogised. claudia buch joined the bundesbank as vice - president in 2014. at that point, she could already look back on an impressive career in academia. she was a renowned professor of economics in tubingen, before later becoming president of the halle institute for economic research and serving as a member of the german council of

mojmir hampl : to be or not to be in the eurozone? an answer from prague speaking points by mr mojmir hampl, vice governor of the czech national bank, at st. antony's college, university of oxford, oxford, 21 may 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. first let me thank dr charles enoch for his kind invitation to speak here today. it is really an honour for me. i was thinking for quite some time about what approach to take today. should it be a totally rigorous, perfectly balanced and as - full - of - data - as - possible description of the macro and monetary realities of our country? or should it be more the personal testimony of a policy maker co - responsible for the monetary zone called the czech republic for almost 12 years now? on the advice of my adviser i decided that the second option might be more appropriate. we should listen at least sometimes to our good advisers after all. so, the czech republic is a mid - sized european country of 10. 5 million inhabitants. it entered the eu in 2004 and has no opt - out from euro adoption, so legally we are obliged to join and to make every effort to be there as soon as possible. yet there is basically no major political power in our country pushing for euro adoption at the moment. it is not part of the real political agenda, and we now have a fourth or so government in a row declaring that this issue will be left “ for the next government after the next elections ” – so it is being postponed to political infinity. the anteroom for euro adoption, the erm ii, is not being considered either. this approach has the full backing of the central bank. ten years ago, supporting the euro was a sign of “ good social morals among the better classes ”, whereas today only the brave confess to ardently supporting it. that ’ s how much the mood of the elite and the electorate has changed over the last decade. why is that so? here my eight personal comments come into play. 1. the euro and political union : a stateless monetary union is inherently unstable. a currency is usually a consequence, not a cause, of the establishment of a state. in europe, however, we began to build the “ currency house ” from the roof down, and then in 2008 everyone was very surprised at how the tiles flew off when the first wind appeared. is there a prospect of a political union – a