From my point of view, to be successful, the new strategy of the EPC requires that two main conditions are fulfilled. The first condition is to make sure that the pan-European instruments are attractive for consumers. As regards this first condition, I just would like to draw your attention on one point: in order to be really attractive, the pan-European payment instruments need to be the “best of breed” that is to say that the service level to be provided should converge towards the best service levels in Europe. The second condition is that infrastructures are ready to support the critical mass effect expected in terms of adoption by customers of pan-European payment instruments. The 2010 deadline for infrastructures to be “SEPA compliant”, as recommended by the Eurosystem, is therefore very important. This “SEPA compliance” of infrastructures implies in particular that interoperability between all retail infrastructures is ensured. Defining and enforcing requirements for interoperability can certainly be part of the self-regulation space claimed by the EPC. In line with its supportive stance of market efforts, the Eurosystem, as Jean-Claude Trichet has already explained to you this morning, stands ready to assist the banking industry in the definition and implementation of such requirements. To conclude, I would like to stress that it is essential that the efforts put together by the banking industry since 2002 bear their fruit so that the SEPA becomes shortly a tangible reality for citizens, companies and other economic agents.
The re-engineering of payments processing, aiming at notably closing identified efficiency and safety gaps between cross-border and national payment infrastructures, appeared as a pillar for ensuring a high degree of monetary and financial integration in Europe. The Eurosystem has been closely involved in lifting obstacles to the European financial integration in particular with respect to those related to payment infrastructures, in support of market initiatives, including notably those of the EBA. The rationale for such an involvement is in line with the statutory role of the Eurosystem. Indeed, pursuant to the Treaty, the responsibility of ensuring the smooth functioning of payment systems is one of the basic statutory tasks of the Eurosystem. Therefore, the Eurosystem has participated so far in the process of integration under three roles. Firstly, as a service provider for clearing and settlement of large value payments, with the operation of the TARGET system. Secondly, as a catalyst of market participants’ efforts for the creation of a SEPA for retail payments. Thirdly, as an overseer of the functioning of systems processing payments in euro. 2. The present situation display a significant discrepancy in the integration of payment infrastructures  Let me now assess the achievements of the integration process of payment infrastructures. The degree of integration depends on the segment of the payment infrastructures market. While the large value payments segment has already reached a high level of streamlining and consolidation and will further progress with the launch of the TARGET 2 system, the retail payments segment is still very fragmented.