More European integration is not a popular message nowadays, I realize that. We could also choose to abstain from further European integration. That’s also an option, certainly. But there is a price to pay for that option. The price involves continued economic divergence between euro area member states, more debt crises, more emergency support and lower levels of prosperity.
Would the euro survive such a scenario? All the same, we are living in a different Economic and Monetary Union than we imagined back in the 1990s. With more sharing of risk. And more harmonization of policy. In recent years we have pushed the boundaries of the Treaty. There is no guarantee we will not have to do that again.