Moreover, the new Member States demonstrated in many areas that even unpopular reforms, like pension reforms, can be accomplished when tackled right. Increased competition from within and the will to further the competitiveness of the EU as a whole are surely very nice side effects of the enlargement and an incentive to take the revival of the Lisbon strategy seriously.
So let me take this opportunity to encourage the mortgage banks to exploit the options available. These might include drawing attention to loan types that are less vulnerable to refinancing, or introducing differentiated administration margins to give borrowers the right incentives.