This is understandable, given that many of them have already made progress towards adopting the euro. But we have also heard clear words of caution. Let me take the opportunity to emphasise that the euro area is not a closed shop. Following three enlargement rounds since the start of monetary union in January 1999, and with Slovakia joining the euro area as its 16th member on 1 January 2009, there is no reason to believe that the door might one day be closed. But there is no shortcut. In fact, the difficulties that some countries face today are related to their failures to adjust, failures that go back a long way. As a result, domestic and external imbalances have emerged, with adverse effects on the sustainability of the catching-up processes in those countries. The fast introduction of the euro would not resolve the underlying problems – but could weaken EMU. Structural adjustments as well as nominal and real convergence are therefore needed prior to the adoption of the euro. This means that the countries concerned must achieve a sustainable level of nominal convergence at high standards in terms of meeting the convergence criteria. The adoption of the euro without adjustment is not possible. To regard entry into EMU as an easy way to solve or circumvent the current challenges surrounding the catching-up processes would be wrong. And a premature entry might aggravate current problems and put the credibility of EMU at risk.
Jürgen Stark: Closing address at the Fifth ECB Central Banking Conference Speech by Mr Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Fifth ECB Central Banking Conference “The Euro at Ten: Lessons and Challenges”, Frankfurt am Main, 14 November 2008. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen I wish to thank all of you for joining this 5th ECB Central Banking Conference here in Frankfurt. It has been a privilege for us – and here I am speaking also on behalf of my colleagues on the Executive Board of the ECB – to host this event, with such distinguished panellists and participants during this busy and extremely difficult time. In my view, the past one and a half days have been a great success. Your expertise, experience and thought-provoking ideas, as well as your contributions to the discussions have enriched the intellectual and political debate on monetary union in Europe – its achievements, its challenges and its future. It has not been the aim of this conference to celebrate the ECB and its achievements. However, it is worth recalling that, contrary to what was expected by a number of critical observers in the run-up to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the euro has been a remarkable achievement. Let me also remind you in this context that the ECB is obliged to maintain price stability.