The roots of these uneven performances lie not only in divergences in price and cost competitiveness that have emerged in the euro area, but also in different abilities to orient exports to the fastest growing products and partners.
The crisis has made one thing absolutely clear: large imbalances within the euro area can become a fundamental issue for the stability of economic and monetary union. Why do I say this? Because it is inevitable that a union of sovereign states can become fragile if some states are permanent creditors and others are permanent debtors.