If, for instance, a stock exchange or payment system were to default, thousands of participants would be affected on the spot. The financial sector is also an obvious target for politically motivated attackers. By hitting a critical infrastructure, attackers would be able to not only inflict direct financial damage but also wreak havoc on the economy at large.
First, I should like to address the euro banknote-related issue concerning the determination of the number of banknotes to be printed before the launch date of 1 January 2002. The latest forecast shows that there will be a need to put 14 billion euro banknotes into circulation, compared with last year’s estimate of 13 billion.