Philip R Lane: Macro-financial stability and the euro

Remarks by Mr Philip R Lane, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, to the IMF / IMFER / Central Bank of Ireland Euro at 20 Conference, Dublin, 26 June 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Accompanying slides

1.Introduction

This joint conference with the International Monetary Fund and the IMF Economic Review is a highlight in the calendar of events marking the 75th anniversary of the Central Bank of Ireland.1 I am delighted that the conference features so many that have contributed to the intellectual debate about monetary union in Europe, while also featuring the latest original research on the different dimensions of this debate.

At a personal level, I welcome the opportunity in this keynote address to offer some reflections on twenty years of the euro. European monetary union has been a dominant factor in my professional career. As a student and early-stage academic, I vividly recall the debates in the 1990s as to the potential benefits and costs of a single currency for Europe, while the launch of the euro and its impact on the European and global economies has stimulated much of my own research over the last two decades.2 In recent years, my roles as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has allowed me to gain additional insights into the workings of the monetary union.