I was trying to bring a bit flavor of my country across centuries. Being a crossroad, the main gate from east to west, today Albania represents an important actor whose solely role is to provide peace and stability in the region. 2. Albania through transition  For many decades Albania was cut off from other European countries, including the Central and Eastern European ones because of its extreme economic centralization and adherence with the principle of self-support. Transition brought about a structural change in the principles of economic philosophy. The market forces took over the distribution of economic resources and the reduction of existing economic imbalances. This process resulted in increased unemployment, reduced output and consumption, while prices of consumption goods increased over 100 percent. Foreign reserves disappeared almost instantly under the pressure of reduced output and drastic devaluation of domestic currency. Meanwhile a relatively large and growing stock of foreign did not stop the declining trends. Public confidence dived and many Albanians emigrated mostly in neighboring countries. Financial situation deteriorated at a fast pace as well. Monetary policy as we know it was inexistent for Albania did not have a modern central bank. Early structural reforms focused on cutting the subsidies for insolvent state owned enterprises; massive price liberalization; privatization process; land reform; and provided the necessary incentives for the rapid macroeconomic consolidation of 1993-1995. During ‘90s Albania’s path has been quite disordered scoring one of the most unique transitory experiences. It was an experiment a trail and error by everybody.
Christian Noyer: Banking regulation and the financing of the economy Introductory speech by Mr Christian Noyer, Governor of the Bank of France and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, to the Paris-Europlace Forum, New York, 26 April 2010. *  *  *  It is a great pleasure for me to be here in New York and address the audience of this ParisEuroplace Forum. As always, the forum is an opportunity for sharing experiences and perspectives. As we make progress in our efforts to strengthen financial regulation, such discussions are very valuable for confronting views and making sure that we are on the right track. To some extent, the ultimate aim of financial regulation has to do with financing the real economy. Sound regulation should enable the stable provision of financial services to economic agents as they strive to finance their activities. This is why I would like to discuss with you a few aspects of the current reforms of financial regulation that are critical in terms of the financing of the economy. More precisely, in the few minutes I have, I would like to share with you some thoughts on three important policy challenges. How can we make our financial systems more resilient and therefore capable of financing the economy on a long term basis? How can we reduce the procyclicality of financial systems? How can we address systemic risk?