As regards the euro area in 2005 as well, external assets represented 124 % of euro area GDP and external liabilities reached 137 % of euro area GDP ; therefore, in relative terms, the euro area is financially more open that the United States. European investors are also central players in American markets.
The Eurosystem will continue to play an active role in the payment industry by offering several types of service and infrastructure to the financial market. It has proven that it is capable of managing large-scale facilities and now provides a borderless core infrastructure for real-time settlement in central bank money with TARGET 2.