a timely manner should be a key priority for eu legislators. second, we strongly welcome the intention of the legislator to give central banks of issue a role in the regulatory framework for ccps, commensurate with their responsibilities. as i have said, this is of crucial importance, considering the fundamental impact ccps can have on monetary policy. at the same time, the involvement of the central bank in the regulatory framework should 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches not put into question either its independence or its discretion to define the scope of its monetary policy. we are confident that the eu legislator will fully recognise this imperative. thank you for your attention. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

institutional setting for financial regulation and supervision with the lamfalussy framework has been a milestone in this respect, coupled with improvements to the eu legislative framework for financial services, including in particular the adoption of the financial services action plan and the respective follow - up policy for the period 2005 - 2010. however, the first full review of the lamfalussy framework by ecofin in december 2007 demonstrated that the new institutional setting has not yet reached its full potential. while the review confirmed the widely shared assessment that the lamfalussy framework has greatly enhanced the eu regulatory and supervisory process in recent years, it also underlined that the optimal level of cross - border convergence and cooperation has not yet been attained. in order to move forward, the december 2007 ecofin pointed to the need to : ( i ) strengthen the roles, tools and decision - making procedures of the eu committees of supervisors ; ( ii ) enhance the supervisory arrangements for cross - border financial groups by improving the functioning of the supervisory colleges formed by the competent home and host supervisors ; and ( iii ) consider introducing a reference to the eu in the mandates of national supervisors. the ecofin council set out a specific roadmap for achieving progress on these issues by the end of 2008. the eurosystem strongly supports these initiatives. indeed, from the inception of the lamfalussy framework we have argued that this innovative institutional approach provides an appropriate basis for achieving the heightened degree of cross - border convergence and cooperation which is required. one of the key advantages of the lamfalussy approach is the combination of a decentralised set - up with cross - border coordination at eu level. a decentralised approach is in line with the national responsibilities for safeguarding financial stability – relating not only to financial regulation and supervision, but also to financial stability monitoring and assessment, crisis management, and deposit insurance – while also allowing for the benefits of geographical proximity and the established experience and knowledge of local authorities to be drawn upon. at the same time, it is clear that the accompanying coordinating mechanisms need to be sufficiently strong, and this has not been the case so far. therefore, a key priority on the eu financial services policy agenda is the effective and timely implementation of the measures that will allow the full benefits of the lamfalussy framework to be reaped. let me now turn to the work underway on enhancing securities clearing and settlement that is underway in europe. given the existing fragmentation of the securities market infrastructure the post - trading costs of