At the Bundesbank, we tend to regard the current confidence crisis not only as highly serious, but also as a window of opportunity for reform. In March, the Bundesbank’s Executive Board took the unprecedented step of publishing a staff paper entitled “Ways out of the crisis”.
The paper which is posted on our website - contains analyses of the key areas of reform: public finances, social security systems and labour market issues. It spells out which reforms need to be enacted. We stress the need for a consistent overall reform package. The key is to strengthen the willingness among individuals to take risks, to perform and to develop initiative.