Just as in the case for Japan in the 1990s, after the bursting of the large credit bubble, the economy often continues to face a low growth rate for a  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  protracted period, although there are some short-term boosts reflecting the implementation of fiscal stimulus packages or accommodative monetary policies.
Given spill-over effects in the closely integrated euro-area financial markets, they are also a problem for other member states and for the monetary union as a whole. The debt crisis in the first half of this year was a case in point. Its external effects mean the problem of divergencies and imbalances in EMU has to be solved. What are the policy options? 3.