activities in europe and has, hence, supported the smooth transmission of our common monetary policy across the euro zone. despite this achievement in the field of financial integration, it has become evident that this is not enough. in particular, in the field of retail payments and securities settlement i see a lot more to do! this monetary union was culminated with the establishment of the central bank under the banking act of 1875 and the introduction of the “ deutsche mark ” as single currency. in my intervention today i will, therefore, focus on two projects that aim to address the fragmentation still present in the field of retail payments and securities settlement : the single euro payments area ( sepa ) and target2 securities ( t2s ). let me start with sepa. as you are certainly aware, just recently, we published the eurosystem ’ s 7th progress report on sepa, in which we welcome the overall progress made in delivering sepa but also indicate areas where more work is still needed. certainly, many stakeholders want to bring the sepa project further and have contributed to its progress so far. first, enormous progress has been made by the payments industry in delivering sepa. in particular, the sepa direct debit design and launch in november 2009 is, in my view, the most remarkable development on the payments industry side. the sepa direct debit is a key payment instrument as it is the first time that a utility company, like, for example, your telecommunications provider, can charge your account regardless of the country of its location and regardless of the location of the bank at which you have your account. this represents a big improvement as it finally allows customers to conduct all euro payments within europe from one single account. the sepa direct debit is good for everyone. companies and individuals will benefit from increased competition and will be able to get the payments provider that best fits their needs. in germany, the implementation of the sepa direct debit should not represent a big challenge as the sepa direct debit scheme is very similar to what already has been available at national level for a long time. in this respect, i encourage german stakeholders to find a pragmatic solution regarding the mandate migration. such solution should limit the efforts for companies as well as for customers. second, i believe that we should not forget the role public authorities are playing to get sepa up and running. all but one of the eu member states have finalised the transposition of the payment services directive in their national

mario draghi : european cultural days of the ecb – france 2012 interview with mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, for the special supplement of frankfurter allgemeine sonntagszeitung, published on 7 october 2012. * * * this year the european cultural days of the ecb take place for the first time under your patronage as ecb president. why is this cultural initiative important? i was very happy to take over the patronage of the cultural days from my predecessors jean - claude trichet and wim duisenberg. with this longstanding project, we aim each year to bring some of europe ’ s cultural diversity to audiences in the rhine - main area and beyond. the process of european integration involves not only economic and political cooperation, but also touches the cultural roots and common values which bind all europeans together. culture knows no national boundaries. particularly in times such as the present, it is more important than ever to be aware of our shared cultural heritage and to strengthen this awareness further. on the path towards a common europe, cultural exchange between the member states plays a key role. i am very pleased that france is the focus of this year ’ s european cultural days, giving us an insight into the diverse cultural life of another eu member state. what role do art and culture play in your life? i can hardly imagine life without art and culture, because they give impulses for new thinking and creativity. art presupposes both openness and tolerance and opens up new ways of seeing things that we should not ignore and which are essential for defining our quality of life and our future in a positive way. especially as we have such busy calendars, i think it is important to devote time to art and culture – although, unfortunately, i do not always manage to find time to do that myself. what do you particularly like about the european cultural days? the nice thing about the cultural days is that, each year, we can enjoy a programme of first - rate cultural events, and they also give emerging talents a chance to perform in front of a wide audience. the opening events are particularly exciting in that they give the upbeat to several weeks of varied performances. the programme is the result of the creativity of artists, the support of many partners and sponsors, and the commitment of staff both at the ecb and the ncb of the theme country. i very much enjoyed last year ’ s opening concert by the orchestra mozart from bologna, conducted by claudio