In Europe, it was wellknown in advance that monetary policy would not become a cure-all and that problems like national fiscal overload were likely to emerge. But legal provisions have so far simply lacked reliable enforcement. Therefore, an important lesson of the euro area is that common rules need to be credible at all times.
However, we now have to live with the fact that the fragilities that fed into the crisis partly continue to exist. Whether a flourishing regional economy, fiscal solidity or the financial resilience of banks – they all interact systemically – in good and in bad times. So how much patience should we have for each of the patients?