*  *  *  Ladies and Gentleman, It is a pleasure for me to speak to such a distinguished audience today here in London. You may wish to hear about the effects of the euro on the German economy, and I very much appreciate the opportunity to present my views on this.
Economic relations between the not-yet-euro zone country United Kingdom and the already-euro zone country Germany are strong. Thus, you may be glad to hear that, judging from today’s perspective, the euro project is a success (story) for Germany on the whole. There is, however, no denying some work-in-progress aspects to the European Monetary Union itself and to Germany’s role therein.