Jean-Claude Trichet, Former President of the European Central Bank

Abstract

For me and for all my colleagues, these past eight years have been of capital importance. We have had to consolidate the credibility of the single currency during its first few years, ensure price stability — in accordance with the promises made to the peoples of Europe — and ensure that the real economic aspect of the Economic and Monetary Union (E.M.U) — namely the Economic Union in itself — was fully respected, which, unfortunately, has not been the case. In addition to this, over the past four and a half years we have had to deal with the most serious international crisis since the Second World War.