He would be responsible for defining the collective strategy with the Eurogroup, and for ensuring it was implemented in each country. He would also be tasked with managing a reinforced ESM (European Stability Mechanism). In terms of timing, this second step can only reasonably come after the elections scheduled for next year in some euro area countries, as it requires modifying the European Treaties. The third step, in the longer term, would be to complete the Economic and Monetary Union with a European fiscal capacity. This involves gaining more trust from Member States, to avoid it being seen as a one-way “transfer union”. A genuine euro budget would be a stabilisation tool and could include, for example, a European-wide unemployment insurance scheme. It could also be used to finance certain “European public goods” such as digital technology, the energy transition or the integration of refugees. And in the long term, it could directly issue common debt and even raise taxes. Page 8 sur 8 ** Let me sum up. To withstand the current global headwinds, we in Europe must safeguard our three common economic and social assets. And we cannot just wait for better conditions: as a central banker, I have given you my views on the path we can take in the economic area. It is now time for Europeans to embark on some decisive actions to be able to look to the future with confidence.
As put by José Ortega y Gasset, the famous Madrid-born philosopher: “Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be”. Thank you for your attention. i  European Commission, Standard Eurobarometer 85, July 2016. European Commission, European economic forecast, Autumn 2016. iii Matthieu Bussière, Laurent Ferrara and Juliana Milovich, ‘Explaining the recent slump in investment: the role of expected demand and uncertainty’, Banque de France WP No. 571, September 2015. iv World Bank, Doing business 2017 report. ii