Jean-Claude Trichet: The euro after two years: European competitiveness in a
globalized global world
Speech by Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, Governor of the Banque de France, to the Swedish National
Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, Stockholm, 6 April 2001.
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Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and an honour for me to be invited to speak at this
meeting of the Swedish National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, today in
Stockholm. I am particularly happy to express my views on the already successful existence of the
euro and Monetary Union, and the conditions and prospects for its further success.
As you all know, within nine months, on 1st January 2002, the euro will become a reality across
Europe as euro banknotes and coins are introduced. This will be the largest monetary change over the
world has ever seen. However, it should be recalled that for all economic, monetary and institutional
purposes, Monetary Union was created on 1st January 1999. Then, a decisive event in the history of
Europe occurred. The euro was born and the irreversible nature of this change has convinced an
increasing number of economic players that the success of the euro is necessary for Europe. It is a
keystone of the European single market, which will ensure prosperity in Europe for the benefit of the
rest of the world.
I would like to draw your attention to why the euro and Monetary Union have been successful from the
outset, and to the conditions and prospects for building on this success.
I. The euro and monetary union are based on a credible monetary policy and contribute
to an appropriate economic and monetary equilibrium in Europe
I.1 A credible, stability-oriented monetary policy
a/ First of all, let me point out that, from a technical and operational point of view, the launch of the
euro on financial markets has been an indisputable success. In this respect, one has to remember all
the doubts voiced three years ago.
The decentralised organisation of the Eurosystem has achieved the objectives it was assigned in three
important respects:
- operational efficiency, as is demonstrated by the timely adjustment of banking liquidity and
steering of short-term interest rates;
- the security provided by the procedures and systems implemented by the Eurosystem, both
for the execution of its operations and in the field of large-value payments. At the shortest
end of the market, the integration of the interbank market took place in 1999, right from the
start of Monetary Union, thanks to the setting up of the Target system for the transfer of
large-value payments in real time throughout the euro area and other EU countries. The
system now processes over 4 million payments on average each month, representing
roughly 1,100 billion euros daily, of which 40% are cross-border payments. These figures
show a significant increase in the use of real-time gross settlements in the EU since the
introduction of the euro;
- the smooth functioning of the entire integrated organisation of the Eurosystem, in which the
decision-making centre works in constant contact with the national central banks on the
implementation of operations.
The reasons for this achievement lie primarily with the in-depth preparatory work conducted over
several years by the central banking community and private financial market operators.
b/ Second, together with many other factors, this technical and operational success has contributed to
the high credibility of the single monetary policy, which is guaranteed, inter alia, by the independence
of the European Central Bank and of the national central banks.
The Eurosystem has inherited the store of confidence that was built up over several decades by the
national central banks in charge of the most reputable currencies. In France for example, the last
opinion survey indicated that 80% of French citizens trust the Banque de France. And the level of
confidence in the other countries participating in the euro area towards their respective NCB, is
certainly as high.
Moreover, and contrary to what is often said, the monetary union of Europe is not starting from
scratch. It is worth emphasising that for no fewer than 12 years before the launch of the euro, six of
the currencies which now make up the euro - and represent close to two thirds of the GDP of the euro
area - had proven to be remarkably stable, not being subject to any realignment within the E.R.M.
This high level of confidence is also supported by the homogeneous functioning of the Eurosystem:
the European monetary team, composed of the ECB and the national central banks of the
-nowtwelve euro area countries as we have welcome, on the 1st of January 2001, a new member, the
Bank of Greece. All the components of the Eurosystem work constantly hand in hand. The
Eurosystem is a single monetary team, with the ECB acting as a coach and the NCBs as the players
on the field, with a single team spirit and this team spirit is one of the priceless assets of the euro area.
c/ Third, the credibility of the Eurosystem rests, fundamentally, on its stability-oriented monetary policy
strategy. I would like to allay the fears and doubts expressed by some observers as regards the clarity
of our monetary policy strategy.
The Maastricht Treaty has given us a mandate for maintaining price stability. We have decided to be
as clear and as transparent as possible by announcing a clear definition of price stability, featuring a
year-on-year increase in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices for the euro area of below 2%. To
reach that goal we have based our monetary policy on two "pillars". As regards the first "pillar" we
have set up a quantitative reference value, namely 4.5%, for the growth of the broad monetary
aggregate M3; last December, we have confirmed this rate of growth of 4,5 % as an important factor
for stabilising expectations. It should be noted that the concept of a reference value does not imply a
commitment on the part of the Eurosystem to mechanistically correct deviations in monetary growth in
the short term. However, the reference value for M3 is consistent with, and helps to maintain price
stability over the medium term.
The second pillar of the monetary policy strategy is a very comprehensive set of indicators that are
important in our eyes in signalling future price developments in the euro area.
This strategy, which ensures a great deal of continuity with the monetary policies of the participating
national central banks, appears to have been understood by financial markets and the public at large.
In particular, the yields on long-term bonds denominated in euros indicate clearly that the Eurosystem
has kept intact the legacy of credibility that it has inherited.
d/ Finally, the credibility of the euro also results from the Eurosystem's constant efforts towards
transparency and communication. I must stress here that the Eurosystem is one of the most
transparent central banks in the world. Once a month, immediately after the meeting of the Governing
Council, the President of the ECB holds a press conference- which starts with a precise exposition of
the diagnosis of the Governing Council which is immediately made available in real time on the ECB
website. This will be the case when we will meet next Wednesday in Frankfurt.
It is extremely important to stress that the Eurosystem was the first in the world to introduce, on the
1st January 1999, the concept of regular, frequent, real-time transparency in the domain of monetary
policy. This illustrates the extent to which some criticisms are profoundly unjust! It is especially
noteworthy, in this regard, that soon after we had embarked upon this new concept of real-time
transparency, other important central banks decided to go along the same path.
Being accountable for an independent institution in a modern democracy or, as it is the case for the
Eurosystem, in a subtle set of democracies like the European Union, means being accountable to
public opinion at large.
In this respect, the public speeches and testimonies of the President of the ECB for the benefit of both
European institutions and public opinion, the public speeches and testimonies of the Governors of the
National Central Banks to national institutions and public opinion, are crucial. Explaining tirelessly the
reasons and the reasoning that underpin the decisions of the Governing Council is a key part of our
collective duty. This intertwining of the communication of the European monetary team with the
European and national institutions and the full body of the civil societies is currently underestimated.
Wim DUISENBERG attends hearings at the European Parliament in Brussels as often as Alan
GREENSPAN does on the Hill in Washington. Each national governor explains in his own language
(so in total in ten languages), through the lens of twelve different cultures, the same message from the
Eurosystem.
To improve its transparency and its communication even further, the Eurosystem decided to publish
for the first time in December 2000 Staff Economic Projections for the euro area.
In terms of transparency and accountability - namely the duty to explain, justify, whenever possible
convince, and in any case, being fully responsible vis-à-vis public opinion for decisions taken - I think
that the Eurosystem meets the best practices of the main central banks in the world.
I.2 Co-ordination of economic policies
A few years ago, it was necessary to convince a great number of skeptical people, in Europe as well
as in the rest of the world, that the euro was really to be set up. Many observers pointed to its
presumed contradictions and alleged inconsistencies: claiming, for example, that the economic
divergences and structural gaps among euro-area countries would be too large to ensure a viable
monetary union or that the lack of co-ordination between economic policies would deprive the area of
an appropriate policy-mix, and could not be achieved without a political federation. Other objections
raised were the absence of instruments to respond to any asymmetric shocks, and the European
economies' lack of flexibility and real mobility in the labour force. The conclusion was that the euro
would never exist! The facts have disproved this conclusion. But the very same arguments are
sometimes deployed to suggest that the euro-area economy contains some inconsistencies that could
endanger its prosperity.
What can we say, from an economic standpoint, on this very important question?
Firstly, that monetary union per se, and wherever it takes place, does not necessarily imply that, at
any given point in time, all the participating countries will experience the same rate of inflation or of
growth, even though the move to the euro was based on the successful completion of a convergence
process.
Let us focus, for example, on inflation. Present differentials do not appear to be very large, in
comparison with the experience of the United States, a long-established monetary union of
comparable size. Data on major cities of the US shows that inflation differentials have been at times
very substantial, with divergences of 7 percentage points being recorded in the early 1980s.
In the euro area, long-term convergence to a common level of prices gives naturally rise to differences
in inflation rates across EMU countries. The convergence of productivity and living standards creates
a trend towards price convergence, as a consequence of the commonly known Balassa-Samuelson
effect. According to the IMF, this effect is estimated to have contributed 1.5-2.0 percentage points per
annum to inflation for EU countries catching up on productivity.
The recent statistics available for the United States also confirm that wage and salary differentials
within the euro area are by no means atypical in a monetary union: for example, in 2000, in the US the
average weekly earnings in the non-durable goods sector stood at USD 546 at the national level, while
standing at USD 437 in Mississippi and USD 644 in New Jersey.
I am convinced that we can be reasonably confident in the increasing integration of European
countries, and in the fact that economic developments are becoming more and more correlated in the
area. It has been highlighted, in the academic field, by several empirical investigations that business
cycles are becoming more synchronous across Europe.
Secondly it has often been questioned whether EMU can be a success without some form of
enhanced political union. Certainly, for EMU to function well, all Member States must be aware of the
spill-over effects of all their national policies, especially their budgetary policies.
In this regard, we are in favour of strong co-ordination between economic policies, while strictly
respecting the independence of the Eurosystem. This co-ordination is contained in the Treaty itself,
which obliges Member States to treat national economic policies "as a matter of common interest" and
subjects them to a multilateral procedure.
Even more importantly, the euro zone is not devoid of mechanisms conducive to an appropriate policy
mix. As a matter of fact, monetary policy alone cannot ensure price stability without the appropriate
fiscal discipline at the overall EMU level. Indeed, for my part, I would mention three economic
justifications for the Treaty provisions that gave rise to the Stability and Growth Pact:
- First, by co-ordinating the fiscal policies of the Member States of Monetary Union, the pact
ensures a good policy mix within the Euro area. This is essential for monetary policy, to
counterbalance the fact that Europe does not have a significant federal budget, just as it has
no federal government. Close mutual surveillance and co-ordination of fiscal policies are the
responsibility of the "Euro Group" and of the Ecofin Council. Adherence to the medium-term
objective of achieving budgets that are "close to balance or in surplus" means that individual
countries must first rely on themselves to withstand possible economic downturns which
affect only their own economy, while ensuring a balanced policy mix throughout the euro
zone.
- Second, the pact helps to prevent well-managed economies from having to bear an
unjustified risk premium by setting up a penalty system for excessive deficits.
- And lastly, the stability and growth pact allows us to disprove the assertion that the euro area
has no automatic stabilisers in the event of asymmetric shocks to a member economy.
Indeed, by urging governments to aim at a fiscal position "close to balance or in surplus" in
the medium term, the pact enables them to let fiscal deficits increase during recessions
without exceeding the 3% reference value. In short, it allows them to create a fiscal buffer
during normal economic periods that can be drawn on to counter economic divergences or
asymmetric shocks.
To summarise that overall issue, the "Optimal Currency Area" theory has frequently been called upon
by economists who criticized EMU and expressed concerns about giving up the exchange-rate policy
instrument as a response to asymmetric shocks - in particular to asymmetric shocks within a monetary
union. I would like to point out, first, that one of the most remarkable effect of the European integration
has been the increasing symmetry of shocks. Second, Professor Mundell himself, in support of EMU,
made an interesting clarification at the beginning of 1998: in the event of a shift in demand from one
member country to another, creating unemployment in the first and inflationary pressure in the second,
flexible exchange rates would not be able to solve the problem. I quote: "If the argument for
devaluation were valid, it could be applied to every state or sub-region in any country, with a
proliferation of new currencies, so they could be devalued!". In the same vein, other economists
suggest that dealing with divergences and asymmetries should not prove much more difficult within
the euro area, at least in its major countries, than within a long-established monetary union such as
the US.
II. The euro as a catalyst for further progress
While many acknowledge that the introduction of the euro has been broadly successful, one may ask
at this point what needs to happen to ensure the success of the euro in the medium term. What is very
encouraging in this respect is the fact that in a number of areas the euro itself appears to be as a
catalyst for these conditions to be met.
II.1 The euro and the single market
a/ The euro is the crowning achievement of the single market. Need we mention the advantages
inherent in the single market? It enables the productive sector to make significant economies of scale
and allows savings to be allocated to the most efficient investments. It also enhances market visibility
and boosts competition and innovation to the benefit of consumers. But the ultimate objective of the
single market could not be achieved while monetary barriers continue to prevent the free flow of
goods, services, capital and, in a way, people, by imposing unpredictable and erratic exchange-rate
movements and transaction costs. The last step in this process will be made with the cash changeover
at the end of this year; it will enable not only enterprises but all our citizens to enjoy all the advantages
of using the same monetary instrument throughout the European continent, just like Americans do
today throughout the territory of the United States.
b/ Moreover, the introduction of the euro brings about a significant change in the economic and
financial environment.
The introduction of the euro has been a strong catalyst for mergers and acquisitions in the euro area.
The European M & A market seems to be amongst the most dynamic in the world: with operations
totalling over 900 billion euros in 2000, it is now catching up on the American market.
The euro has brought about significant changes for participants in financial markets and has fostered
structural developments in the financial industry. This is true both on euro-area money markets and on
capital markets.
- From the beginning of Stage Three of EMU, cross-border transactions in the money market
increased so as to represent more than 50% of the total activity in all segments of the money
market. The unsecured deposit interbank market - which is mostly concentrated on shorter
maturities - exhibits a very high degree of integration. The integration of interest-rate markets
within the euro area is a key achievement which deserves to be underscored. EONIA and
EURIBOR have provided the market with uniform benchmarks fully accepted by all market
participants. The diagnosis is the same in the short-term derivatives market, whose
integration, standardisation and depth have increased. This is reflected, for instance, in the
scale of daily transactions and the huge expansion of the euro interest-rate swap market.
These structural changes in the euro area money market have generated significant moves
by market participants, who have concentrated within the euro area their euro cash
management activity and have benefited from better liquidity on the secondary market. Of
course, such integration has to be brought to fruition in the other segments of the money
market, i.e. the repo market and the short-term securities market. Further integration will
enhance the efficiency of the euro area financial markets and will be beneficial to borrowers
and investors alike.
- With regard to the capital markets, progress towards integration has been significant, both
on the euro-denominated bond market and the equity market.
The gross issuance of long-term debt securities denominated in euro amounted to 791 billion euro in
1999, against the equivalent of 902 billion euro for debt securities denominated in US dollars. The
pace of euro-denominated issues remained brisk in the first three quarters of 2000 at 498 billion euros.
According to the Bank for International Settlements, euro-area private sector borrowers have issued
about three quarters of their debt in euros since 1 January 1999, compared with an average of 50% in
the predecessor currencies since during the 1990s. Similarly, private borrowers residing outside the
euro area issued more than a fifth of their international debt in euros from the beginning of 1999,
roughly a twofold increase over the total share of the legacy currencies before the introduction of the
euro. And, according to recent statistics, the euro could have been the first currency for bond issuance
before the US dollar during the first quarter of 2001, with 46% of international bond issuance against
44% for US dollar.
Furthermore, European investors have substantially diversified their bond portfolios since the
introduction of the euro, encouraged by the removal of the exchange rate risk. This enables them to
achieve higher rates of return for a given level of portfolio risk.
Additionally, let me recall recent trends towards mergers or close co-operation between stock
exchanges, securities settlement systems and clearing houses, and so forth. Had the euro not been
created, would it have been thinkable that the Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam exchanges would
merge, creating EURONEXT? It is evident that the introduction of the euro is fostering very large-scale
market restructuring throughout Europe. The total stock market capitalisation of euro-area equity
markets stood at more than 5.5 trillion euros at the end of 1999, compared with a market capitalisation
of 3.6 trillion euros at the end of 1998. This figure reflects the powerful drive towards securitisation of
private companies throughout Europe and, in particular, the take off of the "new markets" network.
There are still some barriers to further integration of EU capital markets. In this regard, the Eurosystem
has welcomed the objective of the European Council, meeting in Lisbon in March 2000, of
accelerating completion of the internal market for financial services, and to set a tight timetable so that
the Financial Services Action Plan is implemented by 2005. The Eurosystem also fully supports the
policy conclusions of the Committee of the Wise Men on the integration of the EU securities markets
and welcome the ensuing Regulation recently adopted by the EU Council in Stockholm: we are
convinced that the implementation of these policy guidelines will contribute to an improved allocation
of capital in the European economy and to developments in securities markets coherent with the
needs of the single monetary policy.
II.2 An incentive for further structural reforms
a/ The Euro is, per se, also a strong catalyst for structural reforms in all non-financial domains in
Europe: a single currency facilitates the full comparison of prices, taxes and earnings. I think that the
euro could encourage "cross-fertilisation" of best practice through stronger co-ordination of Member
States' structural policies in areas such as labour markets, education and training, job creation
incentives, effective welfare safety nets, etc. It is the reason why the European Council, meeting in
Luxembourg in December 1997, explicitly mentioned structural policies among the items selected for
reinforced co-ordination. The Lisbon European Council made a further contribution to the necessary
medium-term strategy for structural reform in the Union. The emphasis put on deepening the single
market, the setting of indicators allowing comparisons of best practices among the Member States, the
fact that the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines will examine the structural issues closely: all these
developments are going in the right direction. Two weeks ago, the Stockholm European Council
confirmed these orientations and even added key issues such as ageing in the EU and the role of
biotechnology in the European economic growth.
All European countries must resolutely carry on the structural reforms they have already initiated. It
must be acknowledged that a lot has already been done, in particular with implementation of the single
market. However, continental Europe is still experiencing levels of unemployment that are too high,
despite the fact that the jobless rate has been declining significantly in most of its economies for three
years. According to the IMF and the OECD, around 80% of this unemployment level appears to be
structural, that is, generated by our own burdensome rules and regulations.
EMU certainly stimulates structural reforms in the labour market. With increased capital mobility and a
better functioning single market, firms will become more and more sensitive to overall labour cost
differentials and business regulations in choosing a particular location in the euro area. They will
therefore exert a considerable pressure for appropriate reforms.
b/ In addition to structural reforms, a strong emphasis will continue to be put on competitiveness.
Pre-euro economic policy meant monitoring the balance of payments and the foreign exchange and
interest-rate markets. The authorities thus received constant feedback on key indicators affecting
national economic performance and could react accordingly. These indicators were sensitive, multiple
and very reactive.
In contrast to the pre-euro period, a loss of competitiveness will not show up quickly on radar screens
like foreign exchange markets, interest-rate markets or the external accounts. As a result, economic
managers must monitor the relevant competitiveness indicators with even greater vigilance. The
sanctions for economic policy errors could come more slowly and insidiously via rising unemployment
and weak growth.
The rules of a market economy, especially competition, continue to apply to each economy. Jobs are
created by consumers when they choose the goods and services they feel are the best value for
money. Businessmen allocate these jobs to various possible locations in various countries according
to the relative competitiveness of these locations. It is therefore necessary to monitor competitiveness
even more closely than before through indicators such as unit production costs and the tax and
regulatory framework.
The close multilateral surveillance and the frank discussions provided in the context, inter alia, of the
Eurogroup, will help monitor competitiveness trends with a view to ensure early warnings and
appropriate reactions.
* * *
Let me address, in conclusion, two questions: the issue of sustainable growth and the present
diagnosis of the Eurosystem as regards the balance of risks.
- Growth: Central bankers are sometimes portrayed as being excessively cautious and
reserved with respect to economic growth. On the contrary, we are very much in favour of
growth. First and foremost, because the objective of monetary policy - price stability - is
paving the way for medium and for long-term, sustainable robust growth. This is the strong
belief of the Europeans. I see three main channels through which price stability is fostering
growth. First, preserving and reinforcing the competitiveness of the productive sector through
low inflation and therefore low unit production costs. Second, reinforcing the trust of savers
in that monetary and financial instruments will preserve their value in the medium and long
run therefore permitting low medium and long term market interest rates. And, last but not
least, fostering growth of domestic demand by preserving the purchasing power of
households through low inflation.
- This last contribution to growth is particularly important presently in the Eurozone. In
reinforcing confidence of the European people in the ability of the Eurosystem to deliver
price stability and low inflation we are improving the overall confidence of the consumers and
therefore the level of consumer demand.
Not only are we aiming at sustainable non-inflationary steady growth through our action but also via all
our recommendations: we are calling for implementing resolutely anti-Malthusian policies in all fields of
the economy, that is we support innovation, liberalisation and growth incentives.
We are anti-Malthusian as regards scientific and technical progress. We feel the new technologies
should be approached with an open mind so as to broaden our scope of economic activity and derive
the best possible productivity gains from these advances, together with the corresponding positive
impact on production costs and prices.
We are anti-Malthusian as regards labour. It is essential to ease the bottlenecks in all sectors reporting
a significant shortage of skilled labour in order to continue to contain production cost increases - and
thus ensure price stability - and to allow unfettered growth. In this respect, we all welcomed the
objectives of the European Council in Lisbon, which aim at boosting the labour force participation rate
in Europe from 61% to 70% and increasing the supply of "new economy" skills. This is a very
important decision which represents a conceptual turning point.
We are anti-Malthusian as regards investment. We would like it to be as dynamic as possible, in terms
of both capacity and productivity, in order to loosen production capacity bottlenecks, preserve
production costs, which is good for price stability, and allow unfettered growth. More than ever, the
time has come to invest in Europe.
We are also anti-Malthusian as regards the liberalisation of trade. An open-minded attitude in this
respect has the advantage of consolidating and strengthening price stability, increasing the purchasing
power of consumers and encouraging long-term growth.
- As regards our present diagnosis on the situation of the Eurozone we are very often asked
several questions, in particular: "How do you assess the risks to price stability?" and "What is
your judgment on the present conjuncture in Europe?"
The best I can do is certainly to refer to the consensus of the Council of Governors of the ECB as
summed up by our President Wim Duisenberg.
The European Central Bank confirms its position of "wait and see" with regard to its monetary policy
stance. In an environment of increased uncertainty about the global economy and its impact on the
euro area, the Governing Council is carefully assessing whether and to what extent upward risks to
price stability will continue to decline.
The ECB has the primary objective of maintaining price stability. Within its forward-looking strategy,
the Governing Council had raised central bank interest rates to contain increasing inflation risks and to
bring inflation back to levels below 2% over the medium term. This policy has retained credibility as
demonstrated by continuing low inflation expectations. It is important for economic growth that the
households of the euro area can rely on price stability preserving their purchasing power and,
therefore, supporting solid domestic demand.
Information from the first pillar shows that money growth has been on a downward trend since the
spring of 2000, indicating that upwards risks to price stability from the monetary side have receded. As
for the second pillar, somewhat lower real GDP growth this year will contribute to a reduction in
domestic upward price pressures. On the other hand, owing to the risk of second-round effects from
past oil price increases, wage developments need to be monitored carefully.
Thank you for your attention.