Additionally, the Governing Council committed to the publication of an account of monetary policy discussions. As regards fiscal policy and structural reforms, while the Stability and Growth Pact should remain the anchor for confidence in sustainable public finances, a comprehensive strategy is needed to put the euro area economy back on track.
1 In the labor market, the unemployment rate declined over the course of 2006 from about 5 percent to 4-1/2 percent, and so far this year it has remained close to that level.