 Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to everybody and welcome to the European Central Bank Legal Conference 2023. Also on behalf of the Executive Board of the ECB that is supporting this initiative. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Cara Zillioli. I'm the Director General Legal Services at the ECB and I have now the great privilege to stand here not only as an organizer of this conference but also as a representative of a community bound by the quest for the preservation in a changing world of the fundamental principles of our society on which the society is built by the quest for the proper application of the rule of law nationally and internationally and in the last and the quest for justice. I'm excited to realize over the years that we have built a network that keeps increasing in size and coverage with the shared aspiration to push your excellence in law. Our gathering this year is particularly poignant as it marks the first time that we have been together physically in person since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. As I look around in the room it feels with a profound sense of relief and gratitude to see many of you having come all the way to here. The importance of human contact for the seamless and more intimate and more creative exchange of ideas that can take place in one room can never be overstated. The law is made by humans for humans and physical exchange is a cornerstone in the evolution of the law and in the evolution of all of us as lawyers. True in the years gone by when our dialogue had shifted to screens and pixel is still thrived and this demonstrated our collective resilience and adaptability. That situation though also taught us that while technology can substitute for many things it cannot replace the irreplaceable essence of human connection. The informal interaction from which often new ideas can spring. So I'm particularly happy to meet with all of you today. We have in the room judges practitioners academics and then lawyers from the legal services of the ECB of the European institution of the national central banks and the national financial international financial institutions. All of them in this room to discuss a number of topic and legal issues which are important for the functioning of the Euro system of the single supervisory mechanism of the EU. So to all of you welcome. I also see in the audience some of the winners of our legal research scholarship of the last two years who have published their work in reputable legal journals for the first time this year to promote further contacts between the participants in the legal research project and thereby to promote further research. We have invited them and offered them to spend a day after the conference presenting their works in an internal seminar. So also to you a very warm welcome. At the same time we also have some attendees over streaming. The streaming of course is a technology that makes it possible to reach beyond the four walls of this room. So what will be the issues that we're going to discuss in those two days. You have the program so you know but I will nevertheless mention a couple of things. First of all let me mention that we never choose only one topic. What we strive is to capture the developments in various areas of law whether in monetary policy financial regulation human rights supervisory law or administrative law. We aim to be a cold run where the law mispractice and policy where theory confronts reality and where questions are not just raised but are also rigorously examined and answered. Why is such a multidisciplinary focus essential because the law does not operate in a vacuum. It is influenced by and exerts influence upon a multitude of sectors norms and even societal expectations. In a world that is even ever more complex interacted interconnected and laden with unforeseeable changes is not enough for us to be the masters of our own field or our own specialized domains. We must be cognizant of how different areas of law intersect diverge inform one another. We must also be ready to adapt and evolve as the legal landscape undergoes its inevitable shift. A critical actor in this development is the judiciary. I'm particularly thrilled about the president's the presence of several judges in the room because judges play an indispensable role in providing interpretation that can change the course of law for generations setting precedence and shaping the legal framework. The presence here not only enriches our discussions but serves as a reminder of the vitality and dynamism inherent in the law. It underscores that why legislators may lay down the law. It is the judges who often set course through their wisdom their judgments and their interpretive insights. The panels have been consciously construed to allow for a constructed dialogue between academia the practice and the judiciary. We believe that this symbolic relationship symbiotic excuse me relationship will lead discussions that are both theoretically robust and practically invaluable. So what is expecting us in substance. The title of the conference you have seen is treading softly how central banks are addressing current global challenges. The central banks bankers among you will know that this is a visual description of how central banks move very carefully into uncharted territory but they do move. We will now start the day with a keynote speech by our board member Frank Helderson on a topic that is not just timely but essential clear climate litigation. As we all are aware climate change poses an existential threat but it also poses a myriad of legal questions for the CBS banking supervisor climate change encompasses also financial risk and litigation risk that can have repercussions on financial institution to and therefore need to be addressed. We will move them to the first panel and this is an exciting exploration into the growing significance of the ruling of the on the preliminary references of the court of justice of the European Union. In an age in which the legal landscape is rapidly changing these rules ruling serve as a compass guiding us through the complex maze of interpretation adjudication and development of you long. The significance of such judicial instrument is evident also from its upward trends in terms of number or request for a preliminary ruling that are brought before the court of justice which led to the proposal of reform currently ongoing of transferring the jurisdiction to hear requests for some of these preliminary rulings to the general court. The future outlook of preliminary ruling in light of this reform will also be examined by the panel. Then comes the second panel of today which revolves around the role of the ECB secondary objective a subject that touches the core of the ECB function notwithstanding the primary objective of price stability the euro system is also tasked with the support in the general economic policies of the union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives as delineated under article three of the TFU. The panel will discuss whether such supporting measures adopted by the ECB within the context of the secondary mandate imply different standards of independence accountability and proportionality. Thereafter we have the great honor to have today coming to our conference the president of the German constitutional court professor Stefan Harbert and he will deliver to us a keynote speech on a topic close to the heart of every legal practitioner the cooperation between courts and the role of fundamental rights the protection of fundamental rights in the european multi-level governor system is composed of several layers that complement each other and this variety of actors offers a unique opportunity for mutual enrichment and synergies the interplay between different levels of judiciary and the guardianship of fundamental rights become more vital than ever tomorrow we will start the day with a discussion of central bank communities and international sanctions russia's unjustified and still continuing war against ukraine and its people makes unfortunately the discussion around this matter very topical in a world where international financial sanctions are becoming more common as instruments of foreign policy the sanctity of the immunity granted to central banks to carry out their essential functions is increasingly coming under scrutiny how do central bank communities coexist or collide with the objectives and enforcement of international sanctions and how should this legal complexity be navigated to preserve not only the stability of the monetary system but also the tenets of international law this panel is not just an academic exercise it addresses issues that have real world implication for the functioning of central banks and the execution of international sanctions the next panel will explore the role of central bank and prudential authorities in the legislative process and the often complex relationship between central banks prudential authorities and legislative bodies focusing on how these entities interact to create a regulatory environment that is both stable and agile the panel will serve as an opportunity to discuss the impact of ecb opinions but also of other legal instruments of the ecb which interact with the adoption and application of legislative provisions examining their role as gap fillers in the legislative process and identifying the legal consequences of the inter-institutional power dynamic at play this will be followed by a panel on the incorporation of the environmental considerations in supervision of prudential risk looking into the crossroad of environmental law and financial regulation examining how sustainability factors are becoming an integral part of risk assessment and management of indie in financial sector the panel will delineate how environmental considerations have been recently incorporated in the supervision of prudential risk by looking into the concrete measures the ones that are currently being adopted in this regard explaining how the inclusion of climate relations consideration is in line with the ecb primary mandate and with the objectives of prudential supervision and finally in the last panel we will devote some time to reflect on the concept of monetary sovereignty in an increasing interconnected and globalized world the old age notion of sovereign control over a nation currency is being tested as never before new technologies like cryptocurrencies the rise of regional economic blocks the shifting of geopolitical dynamics are pushing the boundaries of traditional legal frameworks several questions arise what does it mean for a nation or a group of nations to possess monetary sovereignty in the 21st century how do international agreements and institutions influence or constrain the sovereignty and in a multi-layer jurisdictional landscape like the one of the european union where does the sovereignty of individual member states and and the collective sovereignty begin especially in the real monetary policy central bank digital currency which are being studied and tested by several central banks are also relevant both for the concept of monetary sovereignty and for their import impact on the international role of the euro through this panel we seek not only to understand the current paradigms but to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead grappling with implications for central banks international organizations and sovereign states let me now extend my deepest appreciation to our esteemed speakers your contribution not only provides the backbone of this conference but also drive forward the field of law to our audience both physical and virtual thank you for being an active part of this journey your queries your insights your proposals and even your skepticism are vital ingredients in the intricate recipe that makes for groundbreaking dialogues of lasting impact this is more than a conference it is a marketplace of legal ideas a forum for spirited debate and a catalyst for future collaborations i encourage each and every one of you in the room to actively participate ask questions offer insights share your experiences it is through this collective exchange that we broaden our horizon and deepen our understanding enhancing not just the discourse but the very fabric of the legal practice let us be both curious and critical open-minded open-minded and discerning may we just not listen but here in depth and we may not just speak but profoundly contribute this conference is not merely a reflection of what the law is today but a no man of what it could become tomorrow it is the epitome of what we can achieve when we contribute and could combine intellect with initiative and theory with practice in closing i'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to everybody who played a role in bringing this event to fruition from the diligent team at the european central bank to the esteemed sponsor in the executive board and all the behind the scenes heroes whose name may not be limelighted but whose efforts shine bright ladies and gentlemen let us now start i look forward to two days of rigorous dialogue meaningful insights and hopefully transformative conclusions thank you very much