This is important because the chances of the monetary union functioning properly are better if rates of inflation are much the same initially and government finances are under control. Besides the matters behind the Maastricht criteria, with monetary union imminent there are somewhat different issues that need to be considered. Even when the Treaty was being drafted, many economists pointed out that the criteria by no means constituted the only, perhaps not even the most important, requirements for an efficient monetary union. There are now two other matters that seem to be particularly important and they will no doubt receive more attention, both in the European economic debate and in the EU decision-making processes in economic policy: •  One has to do with the degree of uniformity in cyclical activity and the possibility of using judicious fiscal stances in different parts of the monetary union to make up for the absence of national discretion in monetary policy. •  The other concerns the participant countries’ economic structures, not least how their labour markets function and to what extent they are sufficiently flexible both to cope with any shocks to stability and to bring unemployment down to more acceptable levels. If the various political systems fail to prevent large imbalances in government finances, internally as well as between countries in the monetary union, then the ECB will be under strong pressure to consider other objectives than average European inflation. The same applies if unemployment were to remain high or become even higher.
Let me suggest three broad areas. First, as researchers are removed from the fray of day-to-day action, you can step back and ask fundamental questions about risk management practices, identify gaps, and facilitate innovation in risk management techniques. I am pleased to learn about your credit rating project, which aims to provide rigour and transparency to the financial assessment of regional corporates. The value of such work is that it is grounded on sound empirical and theoretical work, with a clear focus on solving practical, impactful problems. In the same vein, RMI’s regular workshops and lecture series serve as useful platforms to present findings to the industry, and to encourage two-way discussions. MAS fully supports RMI’s initiatives to deepen its collaboration with the industry. Second, as a repository of knowledge on risk management, RMI plays an important role in education. RMI has been appointed as the lead provider on risk management under the  BIS Review 121/2009  3  Financial Industry Competency Standards (FICS). You have launched 50 accredited programmes across seven Risk Management job families over the past year. To support the role of Boards and senior management in risk management, I hope that RMI would consider appropriate executive programmes for Board members and senior management of financial institutions. I believe RMI can make an impact in enhancing the knowledge and capability of practitioners. Finally, I hope RMI can provide a focal point to bring in global thought leaders and practitioners on risk management, through your flagship RMI Annual Conference.