As President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi did me the honour of appointing me Governor, on the proposal of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, it was and it is my responsibility to lead the Bank in the restoration of the prestige it has always enjoyed, and to guide its evolution in a national and international environment radically different from the one that has shaped its history.
My view on this is that shifting ﬁnancial liability to the Community level requires transferring ﬁscal policy powers to that level, too. Much closer political integration would be needed and, eventually, the EU would have to evolve into a democratic federal state.