over the next six years and additional benefits can arise if SEPA will be used as platform for electronic invoicing. 1 There is also empirical evidence 2 that harmonisation and standardisation of retail payment instruments across the euro area are likely to create economies of scale in payment services in Europe.
*  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen The events of the past five years have called into question many assumptions that were the foundations of our monetary and financial system. But while it is necessary to draw the right conclusions from the current crisis, we should not discard the lessons we have learned from previous crises – for they remain equally valid.