But something that is more important than exerting pressure on individual countries is this: we need to rethink the fiscal rules and the fiscal framework in the euro area. The current set-up with 19 national fiscal policies and the Stability and Growth Pact is suboptimal. We urgently need a centralised budgetary instrument in order to pursue a common anticyclical fiscal policy.
But the forces for appreciation are also derived from the global monetary environment. Obviously, the production of natural gas in and of itself is good news – it improves the energy situation in the economy and  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  contributes to the balance of payments. But it also obviously has an effect on the exchange rate.