You have done so much over the years, as our major advisers and development partners, to help us steer our countries from the darker days of the past, into the fresh light of a future rich with promise. For Africa is now emerging as the up-and-coming global centre of attention, a continent on the cusp of a major breakthrough.
The next step is now the publication of a concrete proposal by the European Commission for discussion in the ECOFIN Council in June. I would therefore like to stress once more that the ECB in collaboration with the national central banks, the supervisory authorities and the European Commission stands ready to assume the new tasks in macro-prudential supervision that I have mentioned.