mario draghi : address to mark the launch of the new €50 banknote speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, at the ecb and its watchers xviii conference, frankfurt am main, 6 april 2017. * * * it is my pleasure to be here this afternoon to launch the new €50 banknote. this is the culmination of a huge amount of research and dedication from my colleagues in the ecb and the eurosystem, and i applaud them for producing another first - rate product. although banknotes may not receive as much attention as other aspects of our monetary policy, they are a fundamental part of what we do. and in some ways their role is even more important in the euro area than in other parts of the world. though electronic payments are becoming more popular, cash is still our most important means of payment. a soon - to - be - published survey on cash use, carried out on behalf of the ecb, shows that over three - quarters of all payments at points - of - sale in the euro area are made in cash. in terms of transaction values, that ’ s slightly more than half. so even in this digital age, cash remains essential in our economy. and this is particularly the case for the €50 note, which is our most important denomination. there are more than 9 billion of them in circulation, accounting for 46 % of all euro banknotes. that ’ s more than the total number of banknotes issued at the time of the euro cash introduction in 2002. so it ’ s clear that, for the economy to function, people must be able to have trust in cash – it has to be robust, easy to check and readily available. and perhaps most importantly, it has to be secure : we need to stay ahead of counterfeiters, who might undermine the public ’ s trust in money. this is why we always put innovation at the heart of our banknote development and strive to use the latest and most efficient banknote technology. the new €50 note, for example, incorporates all the improved security features of the new €20 note, making it even more resistant to counterfeiting than the first series. it is also more userfriendly for visually impaired people, thanks to bolder large letters and numbers on the front and tactile marks near the edges. and in order to ensure that the public is familiar with the new note, the eurosystem

tensions in financial markets, the transmission mechanism of monetary policy is not significantly hampered in the euro area. still, more data and analysis are needed to firmly assess the outlook for credit in the period ahead. to sum up, inflation rates have decreased significantly and are now expected to remain well below 2 % over 2009 and 2010. recent economic data releases and survey information add further evidence to our assessment that both global and euro area demand are likely to be very weak in 2009. over the course of 2010, the economy is expected to gradually recover. at the same time, available indicators of inflation expectations over the medium to longer term remain firmly anchored in line with the governing council ’ s aim of keeping inflation at rates of below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. a cross - check with the outcome of the monetary analysis confirms that inflationary pressure has been diminishing. after today ’ s decision we expect price stability to be maintained over the medium term, supporting the purchasing power of euro area households. the governing council will continue to ensure a firm anchoring of medium - term inflation expectations, which supports sustainable growth and employment and contributes to financial stability. accordingly, we will monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead. regarding the fiscal policy responses to the economic downturn, the euro area countries ’ updated stability programmes and recent addenda confirm the prospect of a sharp and broad - based deterioration in euro area public finances. a credible commitment to a path of consolidation in order to return to sound fiscal positions, respecting fully the provisions of the stability and growth pact, is necessary to maintain the public ’ s trust in the sustainability of public finances, which is important both for the economy to recover and for supporting longterm growth. in this respect, we support the commission ’ s intention to initiate excessive deficit procedures for several countries. this is crucial to preserve the credibility of the eu fiscal surveillance framework. it is important that clear deadlines are set for correction of the excessive deficits and that consolidation plans are based on firm and well - specified structural measures. as regards structural policies, it remains important to pursue economic policies in line with the principle of an open market economy with free competition. in this respect, it is essential that government support measures do not distort competition and delay necessary structural adjustment, and it is of the utmost importance to avoid protectionist measures. refraining from protectionism will be key to allowing the global economy to overcome the current crisis more rapidly. the successful completion of