Executive Board member Burkhard Balz has introduced Fabian Huttner as the Bundesbank’s new representative in Madrid. A single monetary policy in the euro area needs to take into account the different economic developments in the Member States, Mr Balz said at the inauguration ceremony attended by representatives from Spanish businesses, banks and institutions, but this, he added, “can often be a challenging endeavour, as we clearly saw in the wake of the financial crisis and during the recent COVID-19 pandemic”. That makes it all the more important to reach out more to national authorities and financial institutions in the major euro area countries. It is for this reason, he explained, that the Bundesbank has now resumed its practice of sending staff members to the German embassies in Paris, Rome and Madrid.

“An intensive exchange of views and ideas can bring differing viewpoints to light early on, besides deepening mutual understanding and trust,” Mr Balz said at the official event. “Fabian Huttner will now play his part in fostering relationships as the Bundesbank’s representative in Madrid.” His previous position in the Bank’s Digital Office saw him already work intensively on topics that will shape the future at the Bundesbank. “I’m certain all this experience will stand him in good stead for his new duties,” Mr Balz concluded.

Work together to shape Europe’s future

Germany’s Ambassador in Spain, Wolfgang Dold, used his speech to stress that Europe needs to be an even richer source of ideas in order to shape developments over the coming years. “To remain competitive in a global setting, Europe will have no option but to constantly innovate and forge ahead into new areas,” he explained, adding that the key to this was cooperation, joint European initiatives and projects. “We have now reached a point where we can set the coordinates together for growth to recover successfully in Spain, Germany and Europe in keeping with the sustainability and digitalisation agenda,” Mr Dold said.