. last week the european commission announced its position and issued a joint communication with the ecb. but is this the clarity on this matter that banks have asked for? my reading of the ec position is the following : the european commission has so far not been convinced that an interchange fee is needed for the banks to offer direct debits. instead, the european commission can imagine that banks recover their costs in a different way, for instance by charging for rejected payments as it is the practice in parts of the euro area. independently of the outcome of the debate about the long term justification for an interchange fee – the european commission would accept an interim solution. interim solution means that banks can start with the financial conditions for direct debits in use now – in some markets without interchange fee, in some markets with an interchange fee. more generally, the guidance regarding the sepa direct debit interchange fee aims at ensuring a level - playing field between the sdd and the national direct debits and at providing an incentive for banks to go ahead with the migration. i have described this idea in the speech i delivered last week in a meeting with representatives of the epc. for illustration, let ’ s assume a customer makes approximately 60 direct debit transactions per year – five each month, one for the rent, one for the energy bill, one for the telephone and one for the university of a child living abroad and one for the expenses of this child. if banks would charge e. g. 9 cents for a direct debit transaction, banks would recover around eur 5 per year from the other bank in the end. i assume that banks will try to convince the commission that there are costs they would need to recover. in the meantime – and this is my key message no 1 – banks could start offering sepa direct debit locally and cross border under the conditions described as soon as the psd is adopted in the member states. this is foreseen at the latest november 2009. the length of this interim period should be defined carefully to allow a smooth transition to the new sepa environment. let me now turn to cards – the heart of this conference and an important and fast growing part of payment services with a huge potential to grow further. the epc has been working a lot on this part of the sepa project as well. and once credit transfers and direct debits are in place, full energy can be devoted to the cards issue. last weekend, when i could not

same way. but each needs to be able to respond as necessary. otherwise, we risk widening asymmetries and exiting this crisis with greater economic divergence. this underscores why a common european fiscal response is so desirable. first, it will help bridge the gap for member states and counter that risk of divergence. given the fiscal needs already on the horizon, it needs to be swift, sizeable and symmetrical. second, it will help guide us towards the europe we want to build after the crisis. we have been given a chance to take a leap forward : to reimagine our social contract, reconsider europe ’ s strategic autonomy, and recognise the risks of not taking the environment seriously. these are all areas where acting together is in our common interest. let me give just one example : we have now experienced the consequences of a systemic ecological crisis, and we are also likely to face a period of weak private investment as firms repair their balance sheets. public investment will have to fill the gap. it makes sense to use this opening to accelerate the transition to a green economy and hit our climate targets. the recovery presents a further opportunity, too : to engage citizens in the process of defining our common interest and the areas where europe should be stronger. in sum : this is our generation ’ s “ schuman moment ”. we have been passed the baton of european integration. we are seeing our de facto solidarity all around us. and we are being asked to act, as those before us did, by strengthening europe in response. i am confident that we will recognise our historical responsibility and rise to the challenge. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches