later. participation in erm2 one important question that would become relevant during the preparatory phase is how best to ensure exchange rate stability against the euro within the scope of the exchange rate mechanism erm2, the successor to the erm system. in this regard, there may be reason to say something about history. the riksbank has previously, mainly over the years 1995 - 1997, considered the issue of erm participation and the possibilities for combining this with the inflation target policy that has been conducted for a number of years. during that time, the riksbank was legally responsible for the exchange rate regime, and the reasons therefore for considering erm participation were quite simply to prevent the regime of floating exchange rates from constituting a formal obstacle to swedish participation in monetary union, in the event this was to become a possibility. when the government then decided that there was insufficient popular support for swedish participation in monetary union, the question of changing the exchange rate regime was dropped. in connection with the riksbank being made formally independent in 1999, new legislation on exchange rate policy was also introduced. nowadays, it is the government that decides upon the issue of our exchange rate regime, although the riksbank determines how it is to be implemented. in other words, it is the government that would decide whether and when the krona should join the exchange rate mechanism erm2. following that, the ministry of finance and the riksbank would decide what rate between the krona and euro we assess to be consistent with a stable development of the economy. there are very good reasons to agree upon a common line of action. this is why we are holding discussions already among toplevel officials about an appropriate line of reasoning, the results produced by different estimation methods, etc. if we do not reach agreement, it is likely to be difficult to hold effective discussions with our european partners. a decision on participation in erm2 and on the central rate and fluctuation bands at which the krona should join would be taken through common accord of the finance ministers in the euro area member states, the ecb, the central bank governors and finance ministers of the applicant country and the other erm2 countries, i. e. denmark at present. in practice, a decision would be preceded by contacts between representatives of the ministry of finance and the riksbank as well as with our colleagues in a number of euro area member states and denmark. the first official step in the negotiations would be taken within

: the two main lines of action are elimination of non - explicit price mechanisms and achievement of greater certainty on the terms applied in the supply of payment services. national legislation has to transpose the obligations laid down under these provisions with regard to “ two - leg ” transactions only, those in which both payment service providers ( if there are more than one ) are located within the eea. but italy has opted for broader scope, extending the transparency rules also to one - leg transactions in which only one of the service providers is located in the eea. the information requirements concern both the conditions of the service ( ex ante transparency ) and the effective execution of the transaction ( ex post transparency ). they vary with the nature of the payment service contract and the needs of the customer. a new category of payment service provider is also envisaged by the directive : the “ payment institution ”. this represents an opportunity for businesses with a network structure and extensive distribution channels, such as mobile phone operators and large retailers, who will be subjected to rules laid down by the oversight authorities to ensure adequate quality of payment services. it goes without saying that the new regime will benefit remittances. the bank of italy also monitors technological innovation in the remittances market. a study the bank is currently conducting on mobile payments has found that most operators are interested in developing new remittance payment services using mobile phones. in fact, in the emerging countries mobile phones are already being used successfully to transfer money internationally. in the opinion of the mobile phone operators interviewed, in the medium - tolong term it will be possible to deploy mobile payments applications for remittances on a large scale in italy as well. to conclude, a number of initiatives in both the regulatory environment and the market may have a significant impact on the remittances industry, increasing transparency and efficiency. the bank will continue to support these initiatives while monitoring the remittances market as part of its institutional mandate for oversight on the payment system, economic research and supervision of financial institutions. in view of the social and economic impact that remittances have on the everyday life of migrants and the increasing attention of the g8 authorities, we hope that along the lines of this italian initiative, and of those in other countries, remittance price databases will be introduced in many countries around the globe.