•  First, a well-educated electorate has underpinned political systems which have been able to produce pragmatic policies that have helped in adapting to a rapidly changing world. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index, the Nordic countries (plus the Netherlands, which is often considered a Nordic model country) are the most democratic countries in the world.
Let me start by addressing the initiatives in Europe, moving from the initiatives that are already under way and which will also have a positive impact in terms of addressing challenges and providing responses to the recent events in the financial markets. The first strand of initiatives relates to enhancing the framework for financial supervision.