Thus, in terms of our interaction with the market, it may be surprising but it is nonetheless true that membership of monetary union has actually brought the Central Bank in contact with a wider range of domestic counterparties than was the case before 1999. The Eurosystem is also responsible for the smooth operation of payment systems.
As we have seen from last weekend’s events in Europe, much still needs to be done to deal with the challenges these countries are facing, and further market volatility is therefore to be expected.