Policies to preserve stability, restore confidence and foster economic recovery  Over the past five months, since the financial turmoil intensified and economic conditions deteriorated substantially, central banks and governments have taken unprecedented measures to preserve stability and cushion the impact of the financial crisis on the economy: •  unprecedented have been the measures taken by the major central banks since the eruption of the crisis, as judged (i) by the size and frequency of money market operations to provide liquidity; (ii) by the enlargement of the pool of eligible collateral and the expansion of their balance sheets; (iii) by the speed and magnitude of monetary policy easing since October 2008; and (iv) – in some cases – by the use of unconventional or non-standard policy tools;  •  unprecedented have been the measures taken or announced by governments (i) to support the banking sector through recapitalisations, government guarantees on bank debt, and asset-relief schemes; and (ii) to stimulate aggregate demand through fiscal packages.
But on the other hand, we have also in the meantime started a new exercise, the Convention, which also has to come to an end and to be ratified in order to prepare the European Union for enlargement. But I don't want to dwell too much on the political aspects and give you the view of the Eurosystem in the monetary field.