As a consequence we now have inside the European Union a totally new situation in which for the first time in centuries, in Europe, one generation has been able to accumulate wealth and transfer it to the next generation, so creating a very strong sentiment of support in most countries of the continent and a quest for yet more progress in this sense which is still present in the agenda that Europe is pursuing right now.
As regards the second pillar, our expectations for a gradual recovery in real GDP growth in the euro area have been confirmed by Eurostat’s recently published first estimates for real GDP growth. These preliminary estimates show an improvement of quarter-on-quarter growth rates from –0.3% in the last quarter of 2001 to moderately positive rates in the first quarter of this year.