Yet I will highlight the fact that important fundamental problems have not been dealt with either at all or at least not sufficiently. I will argue that this is an important explanation for the current political troubles in the EU. To counter these political tensions, we need problem-oriented reforms in the euro area as well as in the individual member states.
These steps helped to increase understanding and acceptance of the Bank's policy objective. Still, there was a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty in financial markets about exactly when the Bank of Canada might change its monetary policy stance. So, in 2000, we decided to set eight fixed dates each year for interest rate announcements, regardless of whether rates were changed or not.