While before 2000 crude oil prices were at a major low of between 10 and 12 US$ per barrel, they have over the past 6 years hiked up to 79 US$ per barrel in August 2006, things have eased since but there is no evidence that the price increase will come to a halt.

Any monetary policy decision depends on the overall economic situation and needs to be based on a comprehensive analysis by the Governing Council of all relevant indicators, factors and risks to price stability.

I can think of no more appropriate designation of a prize for freedom of thought than the name of Andrei Sakharov. And I can think of no more fitting recipient of this prize than Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his colleagues.

I was particularly touched by a speech given by our Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, at the awards ceremony for the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression on November 8.

To achieve dynamic and specific policies, the system laid down by the Treaty for the European Central Bank, whereby the Governing Council decides, in principle, by majority, is a good one, even though monetary policy conducted by a completely independent institution does not only affect price stability, but also affects employment, growth and, more generally, economic performance.

The Descartes Jury was composed of the following members: Dr Sirkka Hämäläinen (executive board of the European Central Bank), Mr Pantelis Kyriakides (vice-president of the European Patent Office), Dr Beatrice Rangoni Macchiavelli (former president of the Economic and Social Committee), Sir John Maddox (former editor of 'Nature'), Professor Federico Mayor-Zaragoza (former director general of UNESCO), Dr Ulf Merbold (Astronaut), Professor Ben Mottelson (Physics Nobel Laureate), Professor Nikolai Platé (secretary general of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Professor Anna C. Roosevelt (Curator of Archaeology, Field Museum, Chicago), Mr Jean Stéphenne (presiden ...[+++]t and general manager SmithKline Beecham).