In this respect, let me mention, as a final example of our contribution to fostering financial integration, the Eurosystem’s support, together with the European Commission, for the banking industry’s initiative to create a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), with which European citizens should be able to make payments throughout the euro area from a single bank account, and using a single set of payment instruments, as easily and safely as in the national context today.
Today, the global economy is once again put to the test. The distinct feature of the current crisis is that it originated in the advanced economies and spilled over to the rest of the world. There have been intense discussions with diverse opinions as to the causes of the current crisis.