Second, based on how the euro area has coped so far in its increasingly globalised environment, I would then like to draw your attention to structural reforms that I consider decisive for the euro area to remain competitive and to keep pace with its main competitors worldwide.
Indeed, in recent years we have been observing sometimes less focus on the need for further progress in the Single Market and even protectionist tendencies, which were also exacerbated by concerns raised by the financial crisis.