For this reason, the Governing Council of the ECB has repeatedly advocated that the response to the sovereign debt crisis should be the responsibility of the European Council and that the costs and depth of the crisis were inversely related to the celerity and forcefulness of the response.
The Portuguese and the citizens of other Member States must understand this: the regulations and mechanisms under development in Europe are not the result of some external imposition, but are rather inherent to the integration stage representing a successful Economic and Monetary Union and are therefore essential for the prosperity of Europe and each of its Member States. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches