The competent authorities may deem a pair of currencies to be closely correlated only if the likelihood of a loss — calculated on the basis of daily exchange‐rate data for the preceding three or five years — occurring on equal and opposite positions in such currencies over the following 10 working days, which is 4 % or less of the value of the matched position in question (valued in terms of the reporting currency) has a probability of at least 99 %, when an observation period of three years is used, or 95 %, when an observation period of five years is used.

The competent authorities may deem a pair of currencies to be closely correlated only if the likelihood of a loss – calculated on the basis of daily exchange-rate data for the preceding three or five years – occurring on equal and opposite positions in such currencies over the following 10 working days, which is 4% or less of the value of the matched position in question (valued in terms of the reporting currency) has a probability of at least 99%, when an observation period of three years is used, or 95%, when an observation period of five years is used.

Despite all the efforts, which have been accompanied by numerous national and European laws, these statistics have hardly changed at all in the past few years.

As Governor, I played a key role in the decision for the entry of the drachma into the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System in March 1998, which was accompanied by a devaluation of the currency.

Also, the catching-up that is needed in the candidate states often goes hand in hand with higher inflationary pressure, which will complicate monetary and exchange rate policies.

Nothing will be the same, and maybe the role of tertiary hospitals will, of necessity, have to change because of double gowning, double gloving, air ventilation and the rest of it.