And that in turn could produce serious instability. I think we've learnt in Europe over the last fifty years that stability is the primary precondition for prosperity. Stability is what gives investors the confidence to risk their capital. That stability has been created within Europe, but in the modern interconnected world our stability is always vulnerable if there is instability elsewhere. There are many elements in the current situation which are not stable.
Peace is still fragile in the Middle East.
Russia has not yet enjoyed the economic renewal which has begun to occur in parts of Eastern Europe. GDP per capita in Russia is still 50 per cent below its level ten years ago. Instability takes other forms as well. And it isn't stable as we found two years ago in Asia if large capital flows are occurring in areas which lack the transparency, which is absolutely fundamental to investor confidence. One of the great underpinning elements of the world's prosperity in my lifetime has been the opening up of the world trade system.