Wim is, and will for ever continue to be, present with us, in our heart and soul, with each and every one of us, and with our dear European Central Bank. He will be with us as a great central banker, a great first President of the European Central Bank, and a great European and friend.
As regards the central banker, I would like to say very simply that, seen from my own perspective hen I was Governor of the Banque de France, the monetary policy of De Nederlandsche Bank was a role model for an institution and a currency wanting to inspire confidence, to improve credibility and to be state of the art in the handling of monetary policy in the uncharted European waters of that time.