 A Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that 24 brings good fortune to all of you and to your friends and family. Every new year is filled with new opportunities. And it also gives us a chance to reflect on how far we've come. To give you an example of a remarkable achievement this year, we celebrate 25 years of the Euro. On January 1st 1999, 25 years ago, the Euro was launched as a new common currency. Three years later, people were starting to hold banknotes and coins in their hands, in their pockets. Since then, the Euro continues to unite us. About 350 million people in 20 countries use it every day. Some of you watching may not even remember a time before the Euro, but its benefits are clear in all our lives. The Euro has made it easier to work, travel and conduct business wherever you are in the Euro area. Here at the ECB, we are the custodians of the Euro. We serve you by taking care of our currency, working for price stability and making sure that we keep the Euro fit for the future. We are 25 years old, but this is only the beginning of the Euro's journey, as we bring our currency into the digital age by preparing the foundation for a possible digital Euro to complement cash. By the way, by the same token, we are also working hard on even more beautiful banknotes. We will keep working towards greater European integration, in whichever way we can. Your Euro, your money.