At the European level, the European Semester process for the coordination of economic policies – including the macroeconomic imbalance procedure – which was introduced by the EU in 2011, can play a key role. 14 However, it should be used to its full potential.
Equally important, though, is for national debates and decision-making processes to more fully internalise what it means to be part of Monetary Union. Precisely for this purpose, the Five Presidents’ Report of 12 February 2015 15 called for the set-up of National Competitiveness Authorities.16 These bodies are intended to foster national responsibility for identifying any necessary reforms and facilitating their implementation.