However, euro area economies proved to be more resilient to external shocks in the 2001-2003 downturn, which were mainly caused by a correction of stock market prices and financial instability, than to the external shocks in the downturn of the early 1990s, which were mainly driven by exchange rates volatility.
Fourth, let me highlight the convergence of inflation rates to low levels across euro area countries thanks to the adoption of stability-oriented macroeconomic policies. A remarkable convergence among euro area member states took already place over the 1990s, triggered by the preparations for EMU, and this process has continued in the years after the start of the EMU.