Of course, the real work had to be done by you yourselves and I believe you can be proud of what has been achieved over the past decade. Today in my speech I should like to focus on the role of the ECB, as a truly European institution.
First of all, I shall explain the background against which the introduction of the euro and the establishment of the ECB should be considered. Thereafter, I shall discuss the main features of the institutional structure that determines monetary policy-making. I shall then turn to our monetary policy strategy and the role of accountability and transparency in this strategy.