Membership in monetary union would have further increased access to liquidity during the crisis and provided shelter against speculative currency attacks. Moreover, the longer-term benefits of monetary union include •  lower transaction costs,  •  increased competition and consequently lower profit margins,  •  stronger financial market integration and  •  a credible monetary policy target towards price stability.
Capital flows have enabled the financing of current accounts and have been an important ingredient of the CESEE growth model so far. However, whether in or outside the euro area, some CESEE countries will have to adjust their growth model in order to render their internal and external imbalances more sustainable.