These are tasks and conditions that lie outside the sphere of the European System of Central Banks: they imply political responsibilities, both at national and European level. The Eurosystem and the European Central Bank cannot be called on to shoulder them; what they can do is fill temporary vacuums, contribute to policy analysis and design.
In the last three years, driven by the tensions in the markets, significant progress has been made in reinforcing euro-area governance. But the decision-making processes, conditioned  8  BIS central bankers’ speeches  by the intergovernmental method and the principle of unanimity, remain slow and tortuous. A change of pace is required.