And France has become a very attractive country for foreign investors.i We need only look around us: in this regrettably turbulent world, there is no more reliable partner for Germany than France, and for France than Germany. This is why – and this is the second cliché – we need to stop reducing the debate to an old opposition between “German rules” and “French spending”. In the face of German fears, which I understand, I want to make a clear pledge: there is no question in my eyes of creating a “transfer union” that would only benefit certain countries, or of creating eurobonds that would equate to a pooling of debt. Need I remind you that France is also a net contributor to the European budget and that its public deficit is well below the 3% ceiling? But in light of the current deterioration in the economic outlook, those countries with the fiscal space should “act in an effective and timely manner”, according to the ECB Governing Council which was unanimous on this point in September. Economic studies show that public spending has a bigger impact on the economy when three conditions are met: (i) when spending is focused more on productive public investment, such as infrastructure and R&D, than on current expenditure; (ii) second, when monetary policy is close to the interest rate lower bound, as there is less crowding out of private investment; (iii) and last, when countries have low levels of public debt.
The second pillar is related to the regulatory framework of the activity of the banking system, therefore, related to the day to day activity of the Bank of Albania and the banking system. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  We have identified the regulations that will be subject to amendments. In addition to the objective for creating higher flexibility in relation to certain aspects of the activity in the treatment of the credit portfolio, we will aim at adopting a new concept: the “background check (biografi)” of the client in relation to bank borrowing. We believe that this new element will help banks assess the borrowing potential of each client. In spite of what I said above, it is a fact that, recently, lending in the national currency has seen positive growth over the months. This phenomenon, among others, has been accompanied with a positive side effect at a higher speed and intensity in the pass through mechanism of the monetary policy in the economy. Dear guests, As I pointed out, at the beginning, economic activity at home remains in a positive trajectory, but it has not yet reached the level we wish it were. Research at the Bank continues to confirm that the Albanian economy has unutilised potential and that the closing of the gap remains the main challenge for policymakers. Interventions through both the monetary policy and macro-prudential elements insofar have not succeeded to definitively close the gap.