Fourthly, the setting-up of euro area statistics from scratch has required an intensive process of harmonisation of the methodologies used by the various countries for the collection and production of statistics. This enables us, for example, to compile meaningful area-wide aggregates. The need for the harmonisation of statistical concepts also applies at an international level. The application of the international standards is, first of all, a way to ensure that the statistics remain independent of the policy users. Secondly, application of the international standards allows for meaningful comparisons and aggregation. Given that cross-country comparability of official statistics is key to their usefulness and credibility, all countries across the globe should want to implement worldwide standards in their statistics. Take, for example, balance of payments statistics. Countries will only be able to achieve a common analysis of their bilateral economic and financial relationships if their mutual external statistics mirror each other. A recent study by the ECB comparing the mirror data for direct investment between the euro area, the UK, the US and Japan shows that, in all cases, sizeable asymmetries in these data still exist. Eliminating these asymmetries requires not only an adherence to international standards, but also good worldwide cooperation between the statisticians involved and probably an exchange of micro-data for statistical purposes. Finally, perhaps the most important lesson of all, the independence of statistical institutes is key to the quality and integrity of the underlying statistics. Recent incidents involving government finance statistics have demonstrated this very clearly.

Having such a system in place may lead over time to major progress in both the structural analysis of the euro area and the assessment of the current economic situation. Fully integrated sectoral accounts provide the ideal framework for analysing the structure of the economy and its changes over time as well as the propagation of shocks through the system. This helps to gain further insights into the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the relative importance of the various transmission channels. At the same time, monitoring a wide range of key indicators in a single macroeconomic accounting framework provides a coherent picture of the current economic situation. This is particularly important in the context of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy, which takes into account a broad range of indicators. Integrated financial and non-financial sector accounts provide a framework for analysing the link between the financial and the real economy - an issue notoriously difficult to analyse on the basis of the currently available analytical framework. An integrated system of quarterly sector accounts would also provide a powerful information basis for forecasting, allowing what is nearly impossible today, namely the integration of monetary and financial variables in macro-econometric models. Of course, many of these uses will only be possible once an integrated system of sectoral accounts has been available for quite a number of years and with an appropriate timeliness. But being forward-looking and developing visions is of great importance in the field of statistics.