Ardian Fullani: Concerns of the prospective ERM II members Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the conference “The Mission of Contemporary Central Bank” organized by the National Bank of Poland, Warsaw, 15 December 2006. *  *  *  Your Honor Mr. Balcerowicz, Honorable Governors, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Balcerowicz and the National Bank of Poland for the invitation. It is an honor for me to take part in this discussion and to share my thoughts concerning the challenges facing prospective ERM II members. The central theme of this conference – the mission of the contemporary central bank with the focus on euro adoption – is of crucial importance for countries aspiring to become members of the big EU family in the not-too-distant future. Drawing from the experience of current and prospective members, accession to this family is a complex and challenging process. As a test of the nominal convergence of a country, the ERM II mechanism has attracted a lot of academic interest and criticism. Conceptually speaking, the ERM II directly precedes the full integration in the EMU. (I)  ERM II as a step towards EMU  To put the ERM II in a proper context, we need to be clear on the fact that it is an early necessary step before Euro adoption. Therefore, entry into ERMII is conditional on the economic and political readiness for entering the EMU.
Too many Malaysian households have been thrust into vulnerable financial positions that might have been mitigated, due to high debt levels, low buffers and poor financial habits that left them sorely unprepared to cope with unexpected shocks during the pandemic. When confronted with having to deal with their financial difficulties, many struggled to take appropriate steps to gain control of their situation and make good choices. As a result, individuals have had to resort to drawing down on retirement funds, or incurring higher debt just to get by. And there are still too many who continue to fall prey to desperate financial scams and fraud. Indeed, the need to double down on financial education has never been clearer. We need to build stronger resilience among all Malaysian households. We need to equip and empower Malaysians with the right knowledge and skills to confidently make responsible financial decisions at key stages of their lives. We need to promote healthy attitudes towards financial management. And in Kofi Annan’s words, we need to build a bridge to hope for every Malaysian who has been affected by the pandemic crisis – not just to tide over the immediate challenges that they face, but to provide for their future financial security. With this in view, this Community of Practice aims to help FEN members and the broader financial education community develop effective responses to meet the challenge of delivering lasting and impactful financial education to society. The Community of Practice agenda today focuses on two key areas.