*  *  Introduction  I feel honoured to have been invited to give this year’s prestigious Per Jacobsson lecture before such a distinguished audience. The euro was launched successfully almost nine months ago. This was a historic moment, with 11 countries voluntarily relinquishing sovereignty over monetary policy. Technically the changeover proceeded remarkably smoothly.
Former national money markets were rapidly integrated, in no small measure due to the smooth functioning of TARGET, the new European payment system which, generally speaking, worked well from the outset. The euro is traded on all international financial markets. Moreover, the euro has been introduced in a climate of prevailing price stability in the euro area.