It also enables the emergence of large bilateral asymmetries in the measurement of the same variables, as observed, for example, between the euro area and the United States, but also within the European Union (Chart 3). [5]  Chart 3 Bilateral euro area-US current account (EUR billions; 2020)  Sources: ECB and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Note: Positive balance indicates a surplus for the euro area. Turning to the financial side of globalisation, indicators of international financial trade increased from the early 1990s until the global financial crisis and have subsequently stabilised since then in proportion to global output (Chart 4). As shown in my work with Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, the expansion in external assets was concentrated in positions vis-à-vis international financial centres, which in turn are linked to the corporate structures of MNEs. [6]  Chart 4 Evolution of external assets (percentages of world GDP)  Sources: External Wealth of Nations database (Lane and Milesi-Ferretti) and ECB staff calculations. Notes: Aggregates for advanced economies, financial centres and emerging and developing countries are defined as in Lane, P. R. and Milesi-Ferretti, G. M. (2018), “The External Wealth of Nations Revisited: International Financial Integration in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis”, IMF Economic Review, Vol. 66, No 1, International Monetary Fund, pp. 189-222. Gross foreign direct investment (FDI) transactions of euro area countries with financial centres have been so large that these have driven aggregate euro area developments.
This cooperation includes the joint work on methodological clarifications and data in the fields of national accounts and consumer prices and the development a joint Eurostat-ECB reporting template for government interventions and support measures. Similarly, the ESS Recovery Dashboard established by Destatis, Eurostat and the ESS has proven highly useful, both as a communication tool and as a basis for methodological improvements. This initiative also showcases the potential of statistical systems to be agile and innovative, including through the incorporation of non-traditional data sources. While the measurement challenges that I have laid out are widely recognised and have triggered a number of data initiatives at European and global levels, let me share my wish list for further  improvements from a user perspective. [14] First, at a general level, we could benefit from a more agile statistical system. This pertains to the capability to respond quickly to crises and, more generally, to keep pace with the rapidly evolving global activities of MNEs and financial intermediaries. The use and development of experimental statistics could make an important contribution to boosting agility. Work on variables related to labour market slack, public support measures and business demographics would deserve to be made a particularly high priority. Second, at a more structural level, a concentric system of statistical and administrative business registers is a promising avenue for reconciling statistical and non-statistical needs. A powerful core element of such a system of registers would be a single (near) real-time EU business register containing non-confidential information.