Excluding cyclical effects and one-off measures, the Government estimates that the deficit fell from 4 per cent of GDP in 2005 to 2.7 per cent last year; the primary surplus rose to 1.9 per cent of GDP. General government net borrowing increased slightly, from 4.2 to 4.4 per cent of GDP.
I am pleased to share some thoughts with you from the view of monetary policy. The two elements of your conference title touch upon both the deepening and the widening of European integration. I may recall that, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin wall, those two dimensions were often discussed as alternative strategies.