, in order to make the global financial system much less vulnerable, much more robust, the measures proposed by the basel committee and adopted by the g20 will necessarily take time to implement, given their scale. this applies in particular to a very considerable increase in banks ’ capital requirements at the global level. we foresee a transition period that will last until the end of 2018. are you still worried about the capacity of certain countries, such as ireland and greece, to reduce their public debt levels? what is certain is that it is very important for all countries, and not just ireland and greece, to take measures to ensure medium - term fiscal stability. this is necessary in advanced economies, in the european union in general and, of course, in the euro area in particular. a feature that is shared by the industrialised countries after the very significant recession triggered by the financial crisis is that they find themselves in a vulnerable fiscal position. the european central bank has always defended the stability and growth pact, even when large countries such as france and germany wanted to relax its rules. the federal reserve system decided last week to inject massive amounts of dollar liquidity into the economic system, a decision which has the effect of reducing the value of the us currency. has the currency war started? that is, of course, a totally inappropriate expression to use. there are two main topics that need to be tackled seriously. on the one hand, there is the relationship between the major floating convertible currencies of the industrialised countries, such as the dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound sterling. these currencies – or, in the case of the euro, the currencies that preceded it – have been floating since the collapse of the bretton woods system at the beginning of the 1970s. the us secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the federal reserve system say that a strong dollar vis - a - vis other major convertible currencies is in the interests of the united states. i share this view entirely. a dollar that is strong and credible among the major currencies of the industrialised countries is in the interests of the united states, it is in the interests of europe and it is in the interests of the entire international community. on the other hand, the second topic is that of emerging market economies which have considerable current account surpluses and exchange rates that are not sufficiently flexible. on this issue, commitments have been made by the g20. a move towards more flexible exchange

jean - claude trichet : conclusions of the g20 in seoul – interview in le progres interview with mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, in le progres, france, conducted by mr vincent rocken and published on 13 november 2010. * * * are you satisfied with the conclusions of the g20 in seoul? let me first of all say how delighted i am to be here in lyon, breathing my native air and soaking up the beauty of the city and its way of life. with regard to the g20, i took note of the communique stating that risks remain for the global economy and that there is a need for extreme vigilance. i share this view entirely with the heads of state and government. four further conclusions are particularly important to my mind. first, a commitment to pursue macroeconomic policies aimed at ensuring sustainable growth, including rigorous fiscal measures in countries where these are necessary. second, the need to implement ambitious structural reforms to foster growth and employment. third, the approval of the banking supervision reforms prepared by the basel committee. and fourth, a commitment to enhance the flexibility of the exchange rates of certain currencies which are not sufficiently flexible. when france takes over the presidency of the g20 for a year, what guidelines and actions should it focus on at the financial level? the global governance of the g20 is a long - term undertaking. nothing is settled, and the french presidency will need to deepen and strengthen the main avenues that are currently the subject of global consensus. this is already a huge task. but the greatest responsibility that i see for the future presidency is the correction of large external imbalances at the global level ; such a correction is crucial if we are to avoid another major crisis in the future. and in seoul the g20 explicitly asked the french presidency to work on criteria for measuring these external deficits and surpluses. the financial crisis is over, but its effects can now be felt in terms of the economy. do you believe that all the necessary lessons have been learned in order to avoid a new global crisis when one sees measures here and there that are perceived as protectionist, in particular in the united states and china? we are in the midst of reflecting at the international level on the lessons to be learned from the crisis. this is a considerable task and it is being undertaken by the whole of the international community, including emerging market economies. it will take some time. for example