Who would have thought that inflation would reach double digit levels? In such an environment, in times of great uncertainty, resilience becomes a key priority for businesses and governments alike. Resilience entails two elements: preventing the build-up of vulnerabilities, and preparing to absorb the shocks when they occur. If you have not done first, the second becomes much more difficult. On prevention, a lot has been done over the past few decades - we are constantly developing new indicators, tools and instruments to address potential vulnerabilities. But, as we very well know, no crisis is the same, so on top of prevention we also need to work on our absorption capacity when a crisis happens. The pandemic has proven that only a swift and massive policy action can mitigate the economic effects of a huge external shock. However, the extent of policy action is limited by the available fiscal space, so this crisis has again highlighted the importance of building fiscal buffers – prevention. On our first two panels today, we'll have a chance to talk about building resilience in areas most hit by the recent shocks – the energy sector and supply chains – while at the same time being mindful of the importance of fiscal prudence. More broadly, in addition to prevention and mitigation policies, for building resilience it is also essential to rebuild trust in governance structures, institutions and data. This is because effective crisis responses depend on public acceptance and adherence to necessary measures and policies.
The higher is the trust in the institutions, the easier it is done. And institutions themselves build credibility in the times of crisis. The second lesson is adaptability. Although resilience and adaptability are linked, they are different in important ways. Resilience entails enduring a challenge, while adaptability refers to the ability to thrive beyond it. In the EU, progress on this front is evident. We have been moving from reactive policies to strategic decision-making. The recent crises brought about some tectonic institutional enhancements: the early months of the pandemic led to the establishment of the EU recovery fund, which constituted a breakthrough for the financial solidarity of member states. The Next Generation EU package provided an anchor for investment in the  2/4  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  green and digital transitions in a way that will support resilience and adaptability in the long term. Finally, the REPowerEU Plan aims to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels, but also entails measures for energy savings, new energy storage rules, and a strategy to buy energy together. That being said, adaptability is difficult to nurture, as we often tend to stick to existing patterns of behaviour and decision-making, especially when there is no imminent crisis that would push changes and force us to think outside the box. The last lesson that I'd like to mention (though you can derive more) is cooperation.