These weaknesses, varying in extent from country to country, comprised excessive public or private debt, poor competitiveness, dubious prospects for economic growth, and external imbalances. The single currency had shrouded the markets’ judgments in a veil of uniformity that was pierced by the sovereign debt crisis, revealing the dissimilarities between the debtor countries.
Mario, my special welcome to you and thanks a lot for not hesitating one moment to accept our invitation to be the lecturer at our event. It is an honour to have you here. Let me briefly say a few words regarding both this event and our speaker for today. On the event: The Bundesbank Lecture Series aims to achieve two things.