This will help them to absorb the shock of major industrial restructuring, reduce unemployment, and revive consumption, investment and productivity. At the same time, growth must be more evenly distributed. Beyond a certain threshold, inequalities are not just socially unacceptable, they are also a threat to the economic security of the countries concerned. Although it does not have a specific mandate in this field, the EBRD can, alongside the Bretton Woods institutions, incorporate this dimension into its activities. For example, in order to maximize the social impact of its operations, it could develop micro lending to help get the unemployed back to work, in conjunction with vocational training measures.
Vast projects are in many cases less effective than more modest and better balanced ones.
Stronger and more broadly shared growth means more sustainable security and solidarity in the transition countries. A legal framework is not enough. There is a need for strong institutions, an effective and independent system of justice, a widespread culture of respect for the law, the observance of international codes and standards, detailed and accessible economic information, and genuine protection for the rights of minority shareholders. Otherwise, there can be no true economic security and no strong foreign investment. You have therefore been right, Mr President, since taking office, to place special emphasis on institution-building.