So, this is clearly a case of "closer co-operation", which has taken shape in the creation of a forum where the ECOFIN-ministers of the euro area can discuss the economic situation in the world, in the European Community and in the euro area, and its consequences for economic policy making.
Monetary Union is not a matter of convenience; it offers us protection and improves resilience, provided that we embrace the underlying ideas and principles. Just as the idea of statehood is that citizens gain from acting collectively, the European Union embodies the idea that nations also gain from acting collectively.