technical platform. it guarantees a harmonised level of service for banks all over europe combined with one single transaction price for domestic and cross - border payments and is one of the best individual payment systems in the world. this system was developed and is operated by a “ consortium ” of central banks – the banca d ’ italia, the banque de france and the deutsche bundesbank – on behalf of the eurosystem. target2 securities will be a platform for the cross - border and domestic settlement of securities against central bank money. the development and operation of this system was assigned to the deutsche bundesbank, the banco de espana, the banque de france and the banca d ’ italia. following a review of the current eurosystem collateral management handling procedures, in particular, the correspondent central banking model ( ccbm ), the governing council decided to again develop a single platform, called ccbm2, allowing the eurosystem to manage collateral both for domestic and cross - border operations. work will be undertaken by the nationale bank van belgie / banque nationale de belgique and de nederlandsche bank based on their existing system. as you can see a range of different organisational models are explored to achieve maximum synergies, e. g. specialisation, attribution to one particular member of the eurosystem team, decentralisation and, when and where needed, pooling, which means that a group of central banks provides a service for the entire eurosystem. you will not be surprised that i would stress that in call cases it is important that the ecb ensures the coherence of the full team by exercising in an appropriate fashion its captainship. let me conclude by warmly congratulating the banque centrale du luxembourg on its 10th anniversary. i think i can say that both our institutions are looking back on a decade of challenges successfully mastered. during the ten years of the eurosystem ’ s existence, and in particular during the recent months of financial crisis, we have proven that the eurosystem functions well, even in periods of great stress. the eurosystem has passed the test of its first decade of existence. looking ahead, i am confident that with its unique architecture and a strong and enduring team spirit it is also prepared to tackle the challenges of the future. i thank you for your attention.

from the measures that are still at an early stage of implementation. at the same time, uncertainty remains high and downside risks are still significant due to the continued fragile state of the global economy and geopolitical developments. we will closely monitor the evolution of the outlook for price stability. we stand ready to act by using all the instruments available within our mandate, if necessary, to achieve our objective. in particular, the ecb is ready for all contingencies following the uk ’ s eu referendum. investment in the euro area after the sharp downturn observed during the financial crisis in 2008 and the renewed decline during the european sovereign debt crisis, real investment in the euro area has now begun to recover. in particular, business investment has undergone a welcome recovery since 2013 and public and housing investment have recently broadly stabilised. despite these positive trends, the current level of investment is still unsatisfactory. the level of total real investment in the euro area remains more than 10 % below pre - crisis levels. therefore, further action is needed, including at eu level. the investment plan for europe is a welcome example. while we would support extending it beyond 2018, the success of the current plan also rests on its capacity to improve the investment environment, at both european and national level. only reforms in this area can guarantee its long - term effects. at eu level – and here the european parliament has an important role to play as colegislator – we should further deepen the single market, notably in the areas of energy, transport and the digital economy. we should also make full use of the potential of existing single market legislation by ensuring its complete and consistent enforcement. strengthening the european dimension of regulatory enforcement would help to lessen complexity, enhance the level playing field and reduce the fragmentation of product markets. in addition, we should act decisively to make the channelling of savings into productive investment more efficient. the banking union, including the ecb in its micro - and bis central bankers ’ speeches macroprudential role, has an important role to play in ensuring that banking markets efficiently allocate resources to the most productive investment opportunities across the euro area. progress on the capital markets union is also essential to develop a favourable environment for productive investment in the eu. it will help diversify the sources of funding needed to spur investment – notably for smes and long - term projects – by complementing bank financing with deeper, more developed capital markets. the legislative acts regarding simple, transparent and