The EU’s primary goal of a common, single market meant that one single set of rules was preferred over differentiated sets of rules. Proportionality – the principle that rules must be proportionate to the issue they address – played only a secondary role.
Graph 2 Household Credit Ratio to GDP  As you know, in many countries the marked expansion in housing credit went on to cause severe financial difficulties. Here in Australia, however, this has not happened; in particular, household loan arrears remain relatively low (Graph 3).