on behalf of the bank of albania, i would like to thank all the experts that have helped and have been actively engaged for their successful realisation. in addition to the precious work of the bank of albania's staff, i would like to highlight the rather 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches precious contribution of many renowned academics, historians, albanologists, numismatists and experts from the most experienced companies in the field of banknote production. meanwhile, the bank of albania is working on the completion of the new series with two other banknotes, 500 lek and 2000 lek, which are in production process. concluding, i like to call on the users to handle each banknote with due care, in order to preserve their durability, quality and integrity in circulation. banknotes are more than a valuable paper. they boost and sustain the economic activity of albania and similarly tie with visible threads our national identity. i wish the public will welcome both new banknotes we are presenting today, like the previous ones. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

facilitating their lives. having been instrumental in laying the foundations for the euro, the maastricht treaty will remain vital and indispensable for the successful functioning of emu. the medium - term macroeconomic policy framework laid down in the maastricht treaty has contributed to a stable macroeconomic environment, and will continue to do so. in addition, the treaty provides for a clear allocation of responsibilities between eu institutions and member states, as well as clear mandates for all involved. the maintenance of price stability – the ecb's primary objective –, the independence of the eurosystem and the provisions safeguarding fiscal discipline, in particular as enshrined in the stability and growth pact, are among the hallmarks of this framework. furthermore, the path towards participation in the euro area mapped out in the maastricht treaty, focusing on sustainable economic convergence as a prerequisite for adoption of the euro, will also serve to guide prospective member states. the name maastricht will therefore always be connected with the euro and will forever have a prominent place in the history of europe. let me now turn to our regular examination of recent monetary, financial and economic developments. the governing council concluded today that there was no reason to change its previous assessment. accordingly, the key ecb interest rates were kept unchanged at a level which remains appropriate for the maintenance of price stability over the medium term. starting with the analysis under the first pillar of our monetary policy strategy, the three - month average of the annual growth rates of m3 rose to 7. 8 % in the period from october to december 2001, from 7. 4 % in the period from september to november. the governing council considers that monetary developments thus far do not indicate risks to price stability. the build - up in liquidity reflected in these data occurred in an economic and financial environment characterised by exceptionally high uncertainty worldwide and should therefore be only temporary. this assessment of low inflationary risks is also supported by the declining trend in the growth rate of loans to the private sector. however, a continuation of strong m3 growth could call for a reassessment of monetary developments, especially if there is further evidence of a recovery in the euro area economy. regarding the second pillar, while actual euro area production growth in the fourth quarter of last year and in the early part of this year is still expected to be subdued, new data confirm our expectation of a gradual improvement in economic activity in the course of the year. uncertainty as