established trading relationships ”. and i agree with the imf when it writes : “ negotiations on post - exit arrangements would likely be protracted, resulting in an extended period of heightened uncertainty that could weigh heavily on confidence and investment, all the while increasing financial market volatility. ” to keep such risks in check, it would be important – were britain to vote to leave – for the uk and the rest of the union to proceed quickly, and without animosity, to a constructive discussion framing their future relationship. introducing trade barriers can certainly not be in the interest of either party. 2. economic outlook : between recovery and new challenges on that note, let me now turn to the state of the economy in the euro area and in germany. having got off to quite a good start in 2016, the euro area economy is expected to see a resilient, ongoing recovery, supported by low energy prices and the accommodative monetary policy stance. the latest eurosystem macroeconomic staff projections predict that bis central bankers ’ speeches real gdp will grow by 1. 6 % in 2016 and by 1. 7 % in both 2017 and 2018. this means that aggregate economic capacity utilisation in the euro area as a whole may get close to normal levels by the end of the projection horizon. germany ’ s economy, meanwhile, experienced a strong surge in growth in the first quarter of 2016. real gdp was up 0. 7 %. aggregate capacity utilisation climbed to a multi - year high, boosting the willingness of german corporates to step up their investment again. private consumption and buoyant construction activity were the main forces driving economic growth, but, in contrast to the end of last year, renewed stimulus was coming from exports and foreign investment as well. while the economists of the bundesbank expected the german economy to lose some traction in spring, the solid underlying cyclical trend will probably remain intact. according to our june 2016 economic forecast, the german economy is predicted to expand by 1. 7 % this year, by 1. 4 % next year and by 1. 6 % in 2018. adjusting for the number of working days makes the growth rates even more uniform, and they are higher than the estimated increase in potential output, which is running at about 1. 4 % per year. the utilisation rate is therefore continuing to rise, and it is expected to be significantly up on the long - term average at the end of the projection horizon. however

– into a digital future. since i served as a member of the european parliament for almost ten years, i know that collaborating and trying to find solutions in a european context is no “ walk in the park ”. but recent developments have clearly illustrated that our future can only lie in a strong, integrated and aligned europe. as robert schuman already said in 1950 : “ europe will not be made all at once, 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches or according to a single plan. it will be built through concrete achievements [ … ]. ” although a great deal has been accomplished in the past 70 years, european integration should continue with further concrete achievements and a digital euro would be such an achievement. thank you very much. 1 1. atlantic council cbdc tracker : www. atlanticcouncil. org / cbdctracker / 2 2. see e. g. pboc ( 2021 ) : progress of research & development of www. pbc. gov. cn / en / 3688110 / 3688172 / 4157443 / 4293696 / 2021071614584691871. pdf e - cny in china : 3 3. see e. g. the register : www. theregister. com / 2021 / 11 / 05 / digital _ yuan _ 140m _ wallets / 4 4. see e. g. t3n. de / news / wechat - china - digitaler - yuan - kryptowaehrung - nft - 1464906 / 5 5. see e. g. bis : www. bis. org / about / bisih / topics / cbdc / mcbdc _ bridge. htm 6 6. executive order on ensuring responsible development of digital assets | the white house 7 7. see www. dertreasurer. de / news / cash - management - zahlungsverkehr / siemens - und - jp - morgan - wollentreasury - automatisieren - 2022381 / 8 8. ecb press release from www. ecb. europa. eu / press / pr / date / 2022 / html / ecb. pr220330 ~ 309dbc7098. en. html march 2022 : 9 9. ec. europa. eu / info / consultations / finance - 2022 - digital - euro _