When seen from an international perspective, real activity in the euro area – in its deviation from trend – has been remarkably in line with that seen in other countries, but with a crucial difference: euro area inflation has been appreciably lower and more stable, thus benefiting consumers and allowing businesses to make decisions within an economic environment unclouded by the “fog” that inflation inevitably creates.
It will also involve, in my view, the willingness of individual countries and their governments to allow markets to set prices and to play a major role in the allocation of funds - something some countries in the region have been less comfortable doing up to now.