So, because economic burdens could not be absorbed within their supposed boundaries, the euro area community was found to be ultimately accountable for the imbalances. The chief diagnosis therefore was, and still is, a mismatch between instruments and responsibilities. How to resolve this problem? Let me present the basic modules, on which I sense an overarching consensus in all parts of the euro area.
To be frank, there are also disagreements about reforms in the euro area, and I will turn to those later on. Without a national lender of last resort and without the option of immediate fiscal stabilisation, there was a need for an effective euro area crisis response. Mechanisms were established to contain liquidity shortages. We also saw a determined monetary response.