As I will outline in more detail during this speech, the difficult but ultimately successful adjustment that Germany has undergone in the past has enabled it to serve as an important buffer for global demand during the crisis and an indispensable anchor of stability within EMU, both throughout the crisis and during the subsequent recovery.
In order to clarify these points, I will concentrate on the following three aspects:   First, I will shed some light on the underlying factors behind persistent divergences in price competitiveness within the euro area, which, together with past fiscal profligacy, are to a large part responsible for the problems we are facing today.