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Thanks, Pascal, thanks, Valdis.

Let me welcome you warmly to this press conference in Luxembourg,

which is also the headquarter of the European Stability Mechanism.

I will, dwell on two topics today, the macroeconomic, environment, with the, the,

also a stint on the international role of the euro,

and then, afterwards also say a few words on stable coins.

So the macroeconomic environment is still largely shaped by US economic developments and political uncertainty there.

So far, the US tariffs have had a smaller effect on the US economy and and and and in lowering growth

and sparking inflation on the one hand than was initially feared and so that has made markets,

fueled markets and investors optimism.

However, the full impact of these tariffs needs yet to be seen.

And the US economy might also be approaching a turning point.

Continued uncertainty surrounding US policy choices is also weakening the United States' safe haven status.

The Sell America moment in April did not last

long but has certainly dented the trust in the dollar.

The dollar's weakness might be an opportunity that Europe should grasp.

The euro is in high demand this year and its growing international appeal is

also mirrored in a steady rise in foreign participation in euro sovereign debt issuances.

I had a clear confirmation of this at the capital markets seminar that

we co-organized last week with the European Investment Bank and the EU Commission.

In addition, central banks are adjusting their foreign reserve strategies.

The 2025 OMF survey reveals that a net 16% of central banks anticipate increasing their

euro holdings in the next 12 to 24 months, the highest share of any currency.

For the US dollar this year is only 5% compared to the figures last year. This is quite a reversal.

So if you're interested in that, I wrote a blog on all these points.

So we need to build on this momentum and we need to act.

So we have three major things to do in Europe.

First, to maintain sound fiscal policies and financial stability.

Second, Advance the savings and Investment union and in the single market, and third,

embrace technological innovation and launch the digital euro as quickly as possible.

Staying on the topic of digital assets, let me make a wider perspective on the issue of stablecoins.

The ESM first and foremost fully supports the Digital Europe project to provide European

citizens and firms with a digital means of payment, both for retail and wholesale.

Europe should not be dependent on US dollar denominated stablecoins which are currently dominating markets.

The ECB is right to warn on financial stability risks which

may emerge from our exposure to foreign currency denominated stable coins.

We need to close the remaining regular gaps if they are there.

At the same time,

I believe Europe should also embrace the potential

for financial innovation with stable coins and tokenized assets.

Stablecoins are an inevitable part of this equation.

In a rapidly evolving financial landscape,

Europe should do its best to facilitate the generation of euro denominated stablecoins by domestic issuers.

On that account, I find it a welcome development that several

European banks have created a consortium to launch a euro-denominated stablecoin.

Today was not meant to discuss regulation, but it seems clear to us at the that European rules

should serve the double purpose of creating space for

a European stable coin market and preserve financial stability.