In particular, I would like to present what I see as the rationale for a banking union and sketch some first ideas about a fiscal union in the euro area in the medium term. My focus is the euro area, which in my opinion is the core of future integration.
BIS central bankers’ speeches  9    For small countries within the euro area, the sheltering function of the euro adds to the other benefits of the common currency. By contrast, in recent years countries with an autonomous monetary policy such as Iceland and Switzerland experienced the negative aspects of monetary autonomy.