and this seems to be due to overly rigid labour, goods and services and financial markets. structural reforms that would allow the economy to be made more flexible are the primary tools for achieving a leap in productivity. in the united states this was made possible in the mid - 1990s. and, consequently? one should never underestimate the importance of investment in research and development, which are today insufficient both in italy and in the euro area as a whole. you have mentioned structural reforms, which are currently at the heart of the italian political debate on developments in the finance laws. let us begin with the deficit - to – gdp ratio, which is well above the 3 % limit. is the situation in italy a cause for concern for you? our message to italy, as to all euro area countries, is the following : the benefits that higher than expected economic growth is bringing, in particular in terms of higher tax revenues, should be allocated entirely to reducing the public deficit and preventing the growth of debt. that is a kind of recommendation. yes. the position of the governing council is very well known. we are recommending rigorous compliance with the stability and growth pact. and as a general rule we would suggest first that public spending be reduced, and only after as much as possible has been done in this area, that taxes be increased if necessary in order to comply with the stability and growth pact. you know tommaso padoa - schioppa well after having worked with him for so many years here in frankfurt. will he do this to improve italy ’ s accounts? tommaso padoa - schioppa is one of the most experienced persons, not only within italy and europe, but also in the world. he has personal influence, and personal prestige in all fields of money and finance, which i regard as being very important. of course, it is clear that the challenges and risks that he faces are enormous. ” being a minister is not like being a banker, the tasks and responsibilities are quite different. “ tommaso has been a marvellous banker, but he has also held a large number of other responsibilities. these are different tasks, but they both require clear judgement, decision - making ability, strength of character and determination. let me add that i do not forget myself that central bankers, by definition, have a multipartisan responsibility. why? price stability is a common benefit for all citizens, regardless of their political sensitivities and individual preferences. according to

develop a 24 / 7 settlement system. 9 the u. s. treasury echoed this theme in a recent report. 10 over the past year, we have undertaken an assessment of what the federal reserve could do to modernize its infrastructure to support interbank settlement of faster payments. that assessment found that 24 / 7 payment - by - payment interbank settlement in real - time - - what we refer to as real - time gross settlement ( rtgs ) - - offers clear benefits in minimizing risk and maximizing efficiency. a 24 / 7 economy with 24 / 7 real - time payments needs 24 / 7 real - time settlement, and rtgs is the way to achieve this. that is where we believe that the federal reserve and the private sector together need to make investments for the future. in this regard, the u. s. retail payment system lags behind some other countries : the reserve bank of australia and the european central bank have already implemented or are on the cusp of implementing rtgs systems to support private - sector faster payment services. faster payments task force, final report part two : a call to action, july 2017, https : / / fasterpaymentstaskforce. org /. u. s. department of the treasury, a financial system that creates economic opportunities : nonbank financials, fintech, and innovation ( washington : department of the treasury, july 2018 ), https : / / home. treasury. gov / sites / default / files / 2018 - 07 / a - financial - system - that - creates - economic - opportunities - - nonbank - financi.... pdf. the federal reserve and payment system stakeholders have an opportunity to upgrade america ’ s payment system to meet the needs of households, businesses, and banks in the app economy. today, we are publishing a federal register notice that seeks public comment on potential steps the federal reserve could take to support the vision of rtgs of faster payments. the reserve banks could develop a service for rtgs that is available on a 24 / 7 basis to provide payment - by - payment interbank settlement in real time and at any time, on any day, including weekends and holidays. the reserve banks currently provide payment services to more than 11, 000 banks across the country. a 24 / 7 rtgs service provided by the reserve banks could significantly improve the prospect that banks of all sizes will have equitable access to a real - time interbank settlement infrastructure for faster payments in the