 As a leader in European statistics, the ECB has helped build a better Europe and serve its citizens and businesses over the past 20 years. People rely on the value of their money and as the central bank and supervisor of the Euro area, we protect this value through data-based policy decisions. The scope of our activities has broadened since 1998 when there were 11 member countries in the Euro area. We now collect data from banks, investment and pension funds and insurance corporations in 19 countries in total. President Draghi regularly emphasises the necessary role statistics play in the governing council's decision-making process. The independence of the statistical institutions and their people is of the essence for the credibility of the data which form the basis upon which economic policies are designed, accepted, presented and financed. Ms Nui, chair of the supervisory board, reminded us that the success of European banking supervision was only possible thanks to decisions being backed by solid statistics. We collect data with the help of national central banks throughout the Euro area. By meeting at regular intervals with colleagues from the various national central banks, we produce reliable and timely statistics. A statistic should try to help to explain the complex world to policy makers and to the public at large. Granural data are very important because if you use granural data you can derive many different statistics from just a single data collection, so that can be used for many policy reasons. In 30 years we have achieved a common understanding of statistics. The biggest achievement is that we really have unified, harmonised data for the Euro area as a whole. The ECB also collaborates at the international and European levels. Our statistics are also used by a broad range of groups which shows that what we do affects many people. Over the past 20 years, some of our greatest achievements include creating a comprehensive and solid statistical framework for European financial statistics, creating modern distribution channels for maximum efficiency of data exchange and demonstrating an ever-increasing readiness to set the bar for statistics worldwide. In a dynamic world, we need to develop our tools to ensure that experts and decision makers can do their jobs. In an effort to raise the bar, our data is becoming increasingly granular and standardised so that we can give an accurate insight into specific countries as well as a holistic view. New technologies will help us along the way, while statistics and methodologies will also remain relevant. What changes is the way we measure, compile and analyse data. All these efforts contribute to building a stable, prosperous and peaceful European house. For Europe, facts count.