In other words, the future prosperity of Europe hinges on our ability to complement monetary union with economic union, fiscal union and financial union. This more advanced institutional architecture will in turn need to be embedded in some form of political union that engages citizens more deeply in European decision-making.
However, if we take a broader historical perspective, we can see that – in the past – full integration has not been a necessary condition 2/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  for vibrant international economic exchange. Innovation, growth, and close economic ties are possible even in a world where firms have to adhere to different sets of rules in different countries.