DIE ZEIT: Last week the French secretary of state for European Affairs said in an interview that the Eurogroup - the 13 Finance ministers of the euro area - should be allowed to influence the ECB decisions. You reacted sharply. Trichet: I made the point that what was said was contrary to what the Treaty very explicitly says. BIS Review 85/2007  1  DIE ZEIT: The French intend to strengthen the political influence of the Eurogroup as a counter-weight to the ECB. That makes sense. Each other currency area in the world has one central bank and one Treasury. Trichet: It's a cliché that France is always heading towards a loose monetary policy. Since the creation of the Franc after the revolution, the monetary policy had the very strong tradition of a currency keeping well its value over time. Only during two periods of a little more than ten years over two centuries - after the Second World War up to De Gaulle became President and in the Seventies - the French monetary policy has been loose, but it is not the French culture. From 1994 up to the implementation of euro in 1999, we achieved a lower inflation rate than the Bundesbank. And we were supported by the French people. DIE ZEIT: But today the French government wants a co-ordination between the Eurogroup and the ECB. Trichet: The Treaty organises the relationship between the central bank and the executive branches extremely well.
In addition, for those who opt for deeper information and knowledge, our website provides didactic tools to better understand aspects of economy and finance which affect the life of all citizens, like: what is economic growth; labour market, circulating flow, how do financial crises spread; what is competition, etc. Also, the elective module “Personal Finance in Your Hands", from some years now integrated in the high school teaching curricula, introduces to students the world of personal finance, informs and shape their needed skill to manage money in a more profitable way. This textbook is supplied and allocated for free to all high schools which elect to study it. It is accompanied with a guideline to teachers of economy subject. A similar approach has been adopted for younger children. Hence, the teaching package tailored for the financial education of pupils in class I, II and III of secondary schools, addresses issues, as: the difference between needs and desires; where does money come from and for what does it serve; the right management of money and savings, etc. This package may be used in free classes; classes dedicated to school projects; or in intra-subject projects. All that I mentioned above, makes clear that the Bank of Albania assesses that financial education should start at an early age. This affirmative sentence constitutes the philosophy of our programmes. The Bank of Albania aims at building up the communication bridges, awarenessraising and financial knowledge empowering to the new generation.