That is a factor which uses up internal capital resources and/or has an impact on the euro’s external relations — quite apart from an overburdening of monetary policy as a result of an excessively expansionary fiscal policy.
For these reasons, there is undoubted justification not only for a no-bail-out clause but also for defining limits for the national budget deficit and for the general government debt ratio. I wish that the national budgetary policymakers in the participating countries would perceive these rules not merely as a constraint but also as an opportunity of pursuing a rational policy on a sustained basis.