In an address to the Second International Banking Forum, Panayotis Thomopoulos states that the southeastern economies are turning the ......... and can now start enjoying the benefits of stability and growth within the European Union.

Greece will continue to make a positive contribution to the economies of the region, but he admits that he ......... comfort from the fact that Greece is now surrounded by open, dynamic economies.

The recent ......... of the euro is an indication of the markets' confidence in our economies.

There have been of course problems, especially in the European insurance sector, ......... by natural catastrophes, but all financial institutions have managed through.

Nonetheless, such problems, whenever they surfaced, were ......... and did not have systemic repercussions that could threaten the macroeconomic stability of our economies.

As a result of not very ......... policies, the significant losses of insurance and re-insurance companies in the last few years have been partly absorbed by the banking sector.

The banking sector in some countries has unwillingly assumed the responsibility for the well-being of the financial sector as a whole, because it understands the danger of systemic risks, which can ......... havoc.

With the help of the central banks, the private sector has become more ......... in dealing with risks and the supervisors have learned from the mistakes of the past and improved their vigilance.

The new practices to be introduced will further improve our ability to deal with financial risks and better ......... our requirements to each market's special needs.

Looking at the developments in the Southeastern Balkans themselves, the present situation is a far ......... from the bleak picture at the early stages of transition more than a decade ago.