In 2016 we want to see that this project has produced three high quality books on The History of Norges Bank 1816-2016, The Monetary History of Norway 1816-2016 and on selected Topics in Central Banking in an international historical perspective. The aim of the workshop is to bring together international experts from central banks and academia for informal discussions and an exchange on topics related to the writing of central bank and monetary history. We expect discussions to be active and lively and we want this workshop to kick-start research activities in these important areas. I want to thank the Graduate Institute here in Geneva and Professor Marc Flandreau in particular for their hospitality and for allowing us to spend almost two days discussing research in central bank and monetary history. Previous books about the history of Norges Bank have been written in Norwegian, and predominantly by previous central bank governors. But “the times they are a-changin”, to  BIS Review 131/2008  1  phrase Bob Dylan (Dylan, 1964), 1 and today we believe that best practice in writing central bank and monetary history is achieved by contributions from professional academic experts in relevant areas. The research should be brought up to international quality standards through the usual peer review process.
Its growth forecasts are among the highest in the EU, but does it serve as an example when levels of unemployment and indebtedness are so high? There are many models: Ireland is one, and Spain too… Employment is a lagging indicator. Moreover, unemployment figures, especially youth unemployment, have already fallen to levels below those at the time that the bank bailout was requested. Indeed, they are above 2008 levels, but I can still recall the levels of 20 years ago, so it’s all relative. They have always been higher than in the rest of the EU, even during the boom years. But I believe the mentality in Spain has changed. The ability to acknowledge the reality and to adapt to it shows that it is a mature democracy. That is the type of mortar we need for a monetary union. Spain feels particularly underrepresented in the EU since you took, in 2012, the rotating seat on the ECB’s Executive Board, which it had occupied since the institution’s creation. Do you think that, given its demographic and economic weight, the situation should be corrected? Passports should play a minor role in European representation, especially in supranational institutions like the ECB. Quotas are inappropriate. When we enter the ECB’s Governing Council meeting room, we leave our passports in the cloakroom. The only conditions laid down by the Treaty are competence and reputation. That’s quite different however in intergovernmental institutions where appointments are the result of allocation. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  De Guindos in the Eurogroup?