Of course, there have been other cases of similarly inconsistent or even contradictory behaviour. Too frequently the institutional set-up of the European Union has been criticised openly, and sometimes severely, by some national authorities or even other European institutions. How can the people of Europe grow to trust the EU if the decision-makers at various levels question each others’ competencies?
The obvious example for me in this context is the ECB, whose independence and mandate have been repeatedly – and pointlessly – called into question over the past ten years. We can’t take up the challenges of the next ten years if we don’t build on the assets achieved over the past ten years.