the national central banks implementing monetary policy. today the word “ eurosystem ” is well known and is included in the lisbon treaty. when the opportunity came to change the treaty to make it closer to the citizens, it was proposed to make the ecb one of the eu institutions, recognising its role in the further bis central bankers ’ speeches integration of europe. traditional central bankers were sceptical, fearing that a closer link to the other, more “ political ” union institutions would undermine the independence of the european central bank. tommaso was at the centre of this debate ; he managed to strike a balance between, on the one hand, maintaining and even reinforcing the european central bank ’ s independence and keeping its special features and, on the other hand, reinforcing the role that the ecb, as a newly recognised institution, more visible to the people, could play jointly with the other institutions to foster european unification. notably, the lisbon treaty explicitly mentions the financial independence of the ecb and that it has a legal personality separate from that of the eu. a key concern in the early years of the european central bank was to implement the concept of central bank independence in a concrete and practical manner, also in interactions with the political authorities of the union, whether the council of ministers or the european parliament. there were, after all, very different national traditions concerning central bank independence – in some countries, the notion of an independent central bank was a more recent phenomenon, not fully anchored in the day - to - day political reflexes and actions of national authorities. while being a staunch defender of the european central bank ’ s independence whenever necessary, tommaso never viewed the emergence of an effective economic decision - making structure at european level with trepidation, as a potential threat to the ecb ’ s independence. on the contrary : he thought it indeed desirable from the central bank ’ s perspective, and that of the people of europe – that “ independence should not mean institutional loneliness ”. tommaso ’ s legacy jean giono, the frenchman who turned pacifist after experiencing the horrors of the first world war, wrote once that in order to appreciate the exceptional qualities of human beings we must observe how they behave over a long period of time. we certainly did that with tommaso for many years before his untimely departure. but, i would add, we should also consider the influence he will continue to exert. this is something that today

as well as the green and digital transformations require substantial additional public spending. the huge investment required to meet all of these challenges suggests that the era of very low interest rates is likely to be over, also in the medium to long term. this calls for policies that, on the one hand, take advantage of times of favourable cyclical developments to consolidate public finances but, on the other, prioritise necessary investment and structural reforms. the new european fiscal framework provides for precisely such a balance. current projections give cause for concern, however. structural primary balances in 2024 and 2025 are expected to remain well below pre - pandemic levels, thereby putting upward pressure on government debt ( slide 13, right - hand side ). one reason for this is that some government support measures taken during the crisis years were not fully phased out. the lack of fiscal consolidation, despite high debt levels, may impede monetary policy and heighten the risk of fiscal dominance. measures to strengthen long - term growth are equally important. europe plays a central role here. it still offers considerable unexploited growth potential. deeper integration of the internal market for services could boost productivity, as could the urgently needed progress on the banking union and the capital markets union. ngeu can accompany this process. however, it ’ s not yet certain whether this programme can meet the high expectations. a successful evaluation of the programme is likely to determine whether a follow - up programme is eventually conceivable at european level. at the same time, structural reforms to improve labour mobility, increase labour market participation, promote lifelong education and exploit the potential of new technologies such as artificial intelligence are essential. it is precisely in the area of information and communication technology that many firms domiciled in the euro area are lagging behind global developments. reforms that increase potential output would not only ease debt reduction but would also reduce inflation pressures in the long run. this is all the more important at a time of looming de - globalisation and climate change, when the european economy is likely to be more exposed to supply - side shocks. conclusion this brings me to the conclusion that monetary policy was not dominated by fiscal policy in recent years and that monetary policy ’ s ability to act was ensured. the determined monetary policy response to the sharp increase in inflation and the anchoring of inflation expectations despite inflation rates in double digits show that monetary policy has unwaveringly pursued its objective of price stability and that confidence in monetary policy has successfully been preserved