L'Europe, C'est Nous – Governor Gabriel Makhlouf remarks informal ECOFIN dinner

Tánaiste, Ministers, Governors, Commissioners, Deputy Governors, colleagues and friends. It is a great pleasure to join the Tánaiste in welcoming you to Dublin this evening.  I am conscious that, at this point in the proceedings I am standing between you and the next course.  So, I will resist the central banker’s instinct to offer a comprehensive assessment of risks – to the economic outlook, not this dinner – and confine myself to a few brief reflections. We have covered a great deal today. Our discussions have ranged across the challenges facing Europe and its citizens, and the choices we must make in responding to them.  We have not lacked for difficult questions.  But one of the real benefits of an informal ECOFIN is that it gives us the time and space to speak openly and, just as importantly, to listen. It is particularly fitting that we were in Dublin Castle this afternoon.  Few places reflect Ireland’s history and transformation so visibly.  Across the centuries, the Castle has witnessed profound political and economic change. Today, it provided the setting for European partners to meet and work together on shared challenges. That spirit of ...