panelists. ladies and gentlemen, the same as the topics discussed in the previous reunions, “ convergence towards euro enlargement ” is highly important and is worth debating at length. let me start from the fact that euro adoption by the new member states is a matter of when, not if, because they do not have an opt - out clause. the commitment to join the euro area is undeniable, yet how the complex process of ensuring the prerequisite economic convergence is conducted remains largely at the discretion of the authorities in candidate countries. in this context, the approach has varied both across time and across states. shortly after the new member states ’ accession to the european union, the assumed target dates for euro adoption were very ambitious, although the fulfilment of some of the maastricht 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches criteria was still a long way ahead at the time. the more prudent stance manifest afterwards does not necessarily point to the inability or difficulty in complying with the nominal convergence criteria. rather, it occurred after the beginning of the global crisis, when some of the benefits of euro adoption faded away, while the related costs became increasingly visible. we are therefore witnessing a substantially revised and more comprehensive approach to the euro accession process overall. as regards the actual differences in countries ’ strategies, for some it might be puzzling that bulgaria is thinking of joining the euro area sooner than romania. it is true that these neighbouring countries have a lot in common, but there are also other things that set them apart ( not only the danube! ). bulgaria has a currency board in place and it is natural for it to contemplate euro adoption as a sound exit from this monetary policy arrangement ( the adoption of which, two decades ago, meant half a step towards the euro area ). by contrast, romania pursues both a floating exchange rate and a direct inflation targeting strategy, the same as hungary, poland and the czech republic and, therefore, the approach is different, the changeover to the euro being more complex in this context. this is by no means to say that romania is sceptical about euro adoption, but merely that it needs a comprehensive view, meant to ensure an adequate timing of this moment and a successful entry into the euro area. while we are on the subject, it cannot be overlooked either that the new member states having adopted the euro – latvia, lithuania, estonia, slovakia, slovenia – are relatively small countries, with a different

future. instead, i think we need to find new forms for cross - border cooperation between national authorities. as it may take some time to achieve effective cooperation at the eu level, i want to strike a blow for cooperation at the regional level. after all, cross - border banking is to a large extent taking place in a regional context. this may not completely prevent problems related to crossborder banking from arising, but i think it is the only reasonable middle way between maintaining financial integration and avoiding the unduly high costs associated with managing cross - border banks in a crisis. references agenor p. 2001 ), ” benefits and costs of international financial integration : theory and facts ”, world economy, vol. 26, pp. 1089 – 1118. barba navaretti g. and venables a. ( 2004 ), multinational firms in the world economy chapter 3, princeton university press. bank for international settlements, consolidated banking statistics, end september 2009. banking supervision committee at the european central bank ( 2010 ), “ mapping of large european banking groups with a significant cross - border banking activity for the year 2008 ”, restricted edition. buch, c. ( 2000 ), “ information or regulation : what is driving the international activities of commercial banks? ” kiel working paper no. 1011. brevoort p. and wolken j. ( 2008 ), “ does distance matter in banking? ”, finance and economics discussion series 2008 – 34, federal reserve board, washington, d. c. dunning j. h. ( 1977 ), “ trade, location of economic activity and the multinational enterprise : a search for an eclectic approach ”, in b. ohlin, p. o. hesselborn and p. m. wijkman ( eds. ), the allocation of economic activity, london : macmillan. distance between cities places on map, provided by google, http : / / www. distancefromto. net. goldberg, l. ( 2002 ), “ when is foreign bank lending to emerging markets volatile? ” in preventing currency crises in emerging markets, ed. by s. edwards and j. frankel, national bureau of economic research and university of chicago press, pp. 171 – 96. goldberg l. ( 2004 ), “ financial sector fdi and host countries : new and old lessons ”, economic policy review, federal reserve bank of new york, pp. 1 – 17. goldberg l. ( 2008