The third field is our pay-as-you-go pension system. We are currently in the process of undertaking a major overhaul of the public pension system. In this field the single currency is less of a driving force than it is a lubricant.
Some fifteen minutes ago I told you about the favourable turn European and especially German financial markets took once the euro was in the offing. The now wider, deeper and more competitive capital markets provide the perfect environment for the strengthening of the pension system through a new capital funded pillar that recently became law.