 As you reminded us, the Banking Union, while not complete, certainly has plenty of room to develop. And in this light, we have a keynote speech from the ideal person to set the scene for our discussions today. And she's kindly agreed to take a couple of questions afterwards, so please submit them now. Please welcome Maread McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Market Union. So, very good afternoon everyone. I'm not sure if you saw a photograph been taken over there of four people with a sign over them. The test of time. I'm a little worried about where that photograph will end up with that heading on it. But can I say the actual theme of this conference is really important because we are marking 10 years, but we're not resting on our laurels because we have a lot of work to do. And to some extent if you hear things twice, Andrea, you have said much of what I want to endorse. But I think that's no harm because we need to be very clear and very straight about the path ahead and about the need to go on this journey, even if there are little difficulties and twists and turns. So very happy to be here because this is a topic that's hugely important for the European Union. And as you know, it's often in times of crisis that the European Union does its best. It deals with crisis because we absolutely have to. And we can take very difficult decisions that would not happen, let's say, in normal times. And we can be very ambitious and look what happened during the COVID crisis. And I suppose the banking union, like many of these big European projects, is one of an ongoing story of maybe small steps, some big leaps. It's a collection of initiatives launched in the aftermath of the global crisis and to ensure greater financial stability and to strengthen our single currency through deeper integration of the euro area banking system. If we look back to a decade ago, the global financial crisis and then the euro area debt crisis raised fundamental questions on the very future of our banking system. To contribute to financial stability in the euro zone, it became very clear that we needed a strong and safe banking system working easily across national borders with less ties to individual countries. So over that past decade, we embarked together on the journey towards our ultimate destination of banking union. We considerably changed our banking sector and shaped a whole new regulatory and supervisory architecture for our banking system. But we're still on that journey and we're not there yet. We have not reached our final destination. But it's important to mark the fact that we have made significant progress already. So the first and second pillars of the banking union are up and running. The SSM brings clear benefits in terms of the level playing field. It gives confidence that banks are supervised in a consistent manner across the banking union. And there have been continuous progress on crisis preparedness, improving the resolvability of banks and building up capital buffers. Our capacity to handle the failure of European banks without affecting financial stability has improved markedly. And a common backstop to the single resolution fund will soon enter into force, boosting confidence in the bank resolution framework. We've also put in place a single rule book for banks across the single market. And at its very core are stronger capital and liquidity requirements for banks, improved deposit or protection rules, and rules to manage the recovery or resolution of a failing bank. And indeed the recent case of the Court of Justice in the Banco Popular case confirms the robustness of our harmonized resolution framework and the strengthening of the powers of the SRB. And we see results. We see good results. Our banks proved resilient during the pandemic. Andrea, you referred to that. They continue to provide liquidity and services despite lockdowns and this helped to deliver many government measures to support the economy. Of course, the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at this point in our financial system, we are vigilant, but they are under control because our collective efforts thus far has helped to make our banking sector stronger and safer. And now to the core of today's conference, the test of time, Banking Union ten years on, will our framework pass the test? And I think we all know that there are new risks and challenges emerging, not least geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic risks, the climate crisis and the digital transition. Now these developments, some bring opportunities. The banking sector will have an important role to play in mobilizing the investment needed for this twin climate and digital transitions and the shift towards more diversified energy sources. And this is an absolutely urgent topic. But the uncertain economic and geopolitical environment also carries risks that could test the resilience of our banking system. We know inflation is now a reality. Interest rates are expected to increase. And while the COVID crisis is no longer headline news, it has not gone away. Our banking system would be further strengthened to deal with these challenges if it could operate on an integrated EU market backed by an institutional setup that provides adequate safety nets. So despite the impressive progress over the last ten years, there is a lot of work which we need to do and we need to do it together because we're still missing an important piece of the framework. A decade on, the third pillar of Banking Union, a European deposit insurance scheme, is still missing. EDIS would increase the resilience in the overall system by pooling some funds at Banking Union level. A political agreement to establish EDIS would require progress on other outstanding elements of the Banking Union. A comprehensive work plan for the finalization of Banking Union didn't emerge from the Eurogroup. We were hoping it would. I think everyone in this room was hoping that it would. The determined efforts of the Eurogroup president, Pascal Donahue, ensure that the Eurogroup took a pragmatic step forward, focusing on improving the existing crisis management and deposit insurance framework. I always see the glasses half full. And we will use here in the Commission that pragmatic step forward to address improvements in crisis management because we know the framework would benefit from that. We will work on a legislative proposal to reform crisis management and deposit insurance. And this reform would aim to improve our capacity to manage bank failures while maintaining financial stability, protecting depositors, and safeguarding taxpayers' money. Our goal should be to ensure that any bank can exit the market smoothly. However, we do not underestimate the challenges we will face to reach agreement on the reform. I've said repeatedly there is a lot of heavy lifting to be done, and we will only succeed with a clear commitment from our co-legislators to engage constructively in those negotiations and show the necessary willingness to compromise. As I'm learning, the Commission is well used to taking up difficult challenges from the response to the pandemic to the immediate response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And we will continue to play our part in driving banking union forward. Our collective destination remains a complete banking union, and if that's the one message I want to get across, that is the message coming strongly from us in the Commission. It may not be fully in view today, but I believe we will get there because we have a signpost in the right direction. So I hope this conference allows us to have these deep discussions about what is necessary. I gather I'm going to be quizzed now, but I want to thank you for your attention and the need for the opportunity to be with you. Do I stay or do I go? You stay. That's a line in a song if I recall. We can have a duet. Thank you very much, Commissioner, for your speech. We have a few questions coming on online, and then we'll turn to the room. So the first question is, and this is not coming from Elka, I believe. Are you pleased with the work of the SRB to date? Yes. And do you see any role for the SRB beyond resolution in the future? Well, let's see what comes of our discussions. I mean, I think things evolve. So I don't think you should set everything in stone and say, this is fixed. I would join in the kind remarks to Elka. You know, Elka has been so determined that we would make progress and you've made huge progress. So in these days where there is so much change in our financial system collectively, then I think even in our regulation, we should not say this is done and it will not need to be looked at. So I would rather say that we need to be open to what might be necessary. Great. And that, I think, brings us on neatly to the next question. If there are any clear milestones for the completion of the banking union or what's next for the banking union, as Mr. Enria mentioned, there's plenty of room for development in the existing framework. Look, I think we all know the steps and we're going to take the one step that we've been tasked, if you like, by the Council. And that's on crisis management. And when I said this was, you know, a pragmatic step forward, that's important because it gave us a signal that while it was difficult to go much further, those in the room realize we have to go much further and it's a question of time. So I won't say dates or times, but we know the elements of a complete banking union and what it will need, I think is a collective understanding that everybody will have to give a little and that we will gain a lot from that. So that's my conviction. It's better not to give dates unless you're absolutely certain. Indeed, thank you. Is there anybody in the room here in Brussels who would like to ask a question of the Commissioner? If not, I have more online. I thought I was free. One last question, Commissioner. I know you don't have much time. Despite your commitment, unfortunately, the banking union remains incomplete, but could you explain why it is blocked in your opinion? Do you think it's because the bail-in rules, for example, aren't fully respected in the Eurozone member states? I think it's much more in a way basic than that, to some extent. We did what we had to do in a crisis and we just didn't finish it. And I think now, in a sense, if you look at our banking sector is more nationalized than it was, indeed, even in the past. So I think it's about political willingness to understand why a colleague across the room has an issue and that if you give, they can. And I think there was a sense in the room, actually, last week, that we could do that. But I have to respect the fact that those who are present just couldn't take that huge leap forward. But I think the president of the Eurogroup, and indeed, maybe from Council this week, the European Council, will keep this very much in the radar because there's great opportunities from completing Banking Union and why would we delay? Thank you.