The idea was to prevent QE, a massive purchase of public securities – we now hold almost a third of total European debt, equivalent to 20% of euro area GDP – from being a way of ushering in a fiscal union through the back door against the wishes of Member States.
Here is a thought-provoking question: Would you allocate more of society’s resources to giving birth to more babies or to raising children well? Many parents in the audience might agree that the long, complicated and often thankless job of growing a healthy, educated and moral child seems more challenging than giving birth.