Secondly, the countries affected by the crisis need to conduct structural reforms in order to become more competitive and to promote economic growth. Such reforms are, naturally, difficult and painful. The Irish case shows, however, that they are possible, and the German case shows that they pay off in the long run. And, thirdly, we need a stable architecture for monetary union.
Instead of constantly patching up the results of fiscal policy mistakes and insufficient implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, monetary union has to be “reinvented” – such that sound fiscal policy is also truly guaranteed in future.