The connections between countries have become closer and closer over the years, even though this process has not been linear but has had its ups and downs, its “speed-ups and slow-downs” so to say. Every setback, however, was typically  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  followed by a further leap forward.
If the picture of circular movements is at all accurate, one should think of European integration not as a wavelike process but rather as a spiral stair where each cycle is accompanied by an upward movement. In recognizing this pattern, I do not wish to diminish the challenges we are facing today.