the euro area ’ s serious structural unemployment problem. 4. the ecb ’ s contribution to financial stability the ecb ’ s contribution to financial stability, and in particular the question of the provision of emergency liquidity to financial institutions in distress, is another issue upon which the interest of the european parliament is focused. allow me to explain some of the main considerations in this regard. the main guiding principle within the eurosystem with reference to the provision of emergency liquidity to individual financial institutions is that the competent national central bank would be responsible for providing such assistance to those institutions operating within its jurisdiction. the ecb does, however, have to be informed of this in a timely manner. in addition, in operations of relevance to the single monetary policy, the decision - making bodies of the eurosystem will be involved in assessing the compatibility of the envisaged operations with the pursuit of monetary stability. in the case of a general liquidity crisis resulting from a gridlock in the payment system, for instance, the direct involvement of the eurosystem could be expected. for the markets it would be sufficient to know that there is a clearly articulated capability and willingness to act if really necessary. it is not common practice among central banks to disclose the conditions and practicalities of emergency liquidity assistance arrangements. in particular, there are typically no official documents describing the conditions under which emergency liquidity would be extended or what procedures would be followed. indeed, ex ante commitments would be counter - productive in this field, since they would restrict the ability of the central bank to act to contain systemic disturbances with unforeseen features. moreover, this policy of “ constructive ambiguity ” can limit the associated problem of moral hazard. 5. improving cross - border retail payment services in the euro area finally, i should like to turn to a different issue which has also been raised by the european parliament on several occasions, namely the question of cross - border retail payment services in the euro area. the ecb is aware of the criticism that has been expressed with reference to the low level of efficiency and high costs involved in the processing of such payments and fully shares the concerns expressed by the european parliament in this regard. the current situation is particularly unsatisfactory in the area of cross - border credit transfers, whereas the situation in the area of cross - border card - based payments raises fewer concerns. as you will be aware, one of the basic tasks conferred upon the eurosystem by the treaty is the promotion

the european parliament. the treaty establishing the european community contains various provisions to ensure the democratic accountability of the ecb, one of the cornerstones of which is certainly the presentation of the annual report to the european parliament and the council of the european union. however, apart from this annual exercise, the ecb and the european parliament have established several other contacts. first and possibly most importantly, i should like to mention the regular hearings held by the european parliament ’ s committee on economic and monetary affairs. within the scope of these hearings, which – in line with the european parliament ’ s rules of procedure – take place on a quarterly basis, i provide detailed explanations regarding both our assessment of current economic and monetary developments and the decisions taken by the ecb. transcripts of these hearings are published on the websites of both the european parliament and the ecb. moreover, the european parliament has invited members of the executive board of the ecb and staff of the ecb to participate in additional hearings on a number of specific issues, including the external representation of the eurosystem, the preparation of euro banknotes and statistical matters. furthermore, the ecb has also had the opportunity to welcome delegations of members of the european parliament ’ s committee on economic and monetary affairs to its premises in frankfurt. the ecb attaches great importance to these visits and will be pleased to continue to host such events. however, since these visits to the ecb are of a more informal nature, it goes without saying that they have to be considered as an additional tool for communication between the two institutions and cannot be seen as a substitute for regular public hearings at the european parliament. in setting up its communication policy, the ecb decided to go beyond the transparency requirements of the treaty. thus, while the treaty requires the ecb to publish a quarterly report on its activities, the ecb has decided to publish such a report on a monthly basis, the monthly bulletin, which gives a detailed presentation of economic and monetary developments. in addition, there are a number of other communication tools that the ecb regularly uses. first, let me mention the extended press conferences that the vice - president and i hold immediately after the first meeting of the governing council of the ecb every month, transcripts of which are also accessible via the ecb ’ s website. you may also be aware of the broad range of publications that the ecb has issued on specific subjects related to its fields of responsibility. i should like to draw your attention