Jean-Claude Trichet: The financial crisis and the ECB's response so far Keynote address by Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the Chatham House Global Financial Forum, New York, 27 April 2009. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, Chatham House was established after the First World War to promote understanding of international affairs.
Secondly: convergence does not imply uniform policies in all areas. On the contrary: a decentralised monetary union calls on national policy to exercise its own responsibility for maintaining competitive economic structures. In key areas, too, powers can indeed remain with the nation states. Nevertheless, individual approaches, say in the area of taxes, must not lead to distortions on the markets.