There is no doubt that as a result of these standards cross-border retail payments in the single market will be more efficient and cheaper. As these examples show, the standards that are relevant to payment transactions consist of general legal norms regulating structures and procedures, thus forming a basis which ensures that business operations are at least of a minimum quality.
Turning first to the economic analysis, recent data continue to lend support to the scenario for economic activity embodied in the December 2005 Eurosystem staff projections. Hence, our assessment of the outlook for growth in the euro area has been broadly confirmed.