I very much support this agenda. I do, however, not support proposals which, with reference to the Lisbon agenda, suggest that expenditure related to growth policies should be disregarded when calculating the deficit. In my, view, using the Lisbon agenda as an excuse for weakening the Stability and Growth Pact amounts to upending conventional economic wisdom.
The Euro area has been less affected, but there is evidence from the manufacturing sector and from business surveys that growth is edging down nevertheless. I turn now to the second factor, namely the weakness in the Australian economy in the second half of 2000, and its flow-on effects to the first part of this year.