support the wider use of renewable energy sources. 3 another example is the single market for services. implementing the internal european services market would undoubtedly bring great benefits in terms of productivity and employment gains. one specific example in this respect is the completion of the single euro payments area ( sepa ), with harmonised retail payment instruments and standards which can bring tremendous cost savings to companies and consumers. third, we need to invest in education and technologies. the global economic slowdown has had a severe impact on labour markets. since early 2008 the number of unemployed people in the euro area has risen by over 4½ million. policies aimed at improving labour market flexibility need to be combined with measures to raise the level of participation and the skill level of the labour force. while some of the policy measures designed to maintain employment through the crisis have proven effective, it is important to ensure that these temporary support measures do not become permanent. for the second challenge, securing sound national public finances, fiscal discipline is essential. it is true that the fiscal stimulus measures have made a contribution equivalent to roughly 2 % of gdp in the euro area ( not counting off - balance - sheet measures and the economic support provided by automatic fiscal stabilisers ) and, therefore, has helped to on 7 june 2010 the ecb released the 2010 structural issues report on energy markets and the euro area macroeconomy. it notes “ price levels vary across energy markets owing to taxes, energy policies and cost structures. differences in competition and market concentration as well as the degree of vertical integration also exert an influence. although european energy markets have been liberalised and competition has increased, de facto competition still remains lower than de jure competition. pre - tax price dispersion remains sizeable in electricity and gas markets. nonetheless, evidence can be found that past market liberalisation has supported price reduction in these sectors. further reforms towards a more competitive environment creating a level playing field across the euro area would diminish price dispersion and benefit consumers and firms ”. soften the economic impact of the crisis. but with the economic outlook improving, it is now time to phase out these special measures and to start fiscal consolidation, in line with the recommendations made in the country - specific excessive deficit procedures. for a number of countries, this process should start in 2010 and for the remainder it should start in 2011 at the latest. hence, we welcome the fact that a number of euro area governments have now adopted fiscal consolidation measures and set out ambitious fiscal

risks, identify, in a timely fashion, the emergence and build - up of vulnerabilities, and decide on effective ( pre - emptive ) intervention. in this respect, as you are all well aware, the individual results of the stress test exercise for banks in the eu carried out by the committee of european banking supervisors ( cebs ) in cooperation with the ecb are expected to be published later today. as previously announced, appropriate action will have to be taken where needed. on the one hand, sound balance sheets, effective risk management and transparent, robust business models are key to strengthening banks ’ resilience to shocks and to ensuring adequate access to finance, thereby laying the foundations for sustainable growth, job creation and financial stability. on the other hand, stress tests contribute to the effectiveness of financial intermediation by providing more information about the condition of financial institutions and of the financial system as a whole. by combining transparency regarding the results of stress tests with appropriate measures to deal with potential weaknesses, european authorities will send a clear message to market participants about the resilience of the financial system. of course, i cannot say more about the details of the results until they are published later today. concluding remarks to conclude, looking back, the ecb has been credible in delivering price stability even throughout the recent crisis and in the current challenging period. the policy measures implemented by the ecb were indispensable to support the functioning of the euro area ’ s banking sector. they have supported credit flows to the economy and thus dampened the effects of the crisis to the extent possible. even worse outcomes were prevented. looking ahead, we now need to learn lessons and focus on what is needed to ensure that the recovery is sound and sustainable. price stability is the central contribution that monetary policy can make to economic growth, job creation, and financial stability. several challenges remain. while we have long understood the national costs of failure to reform, now we know that knock - on effects can occur of neglecting fiscal sustainability and there are financial stability implications if reforms are deferred for too long. moreover, the need to undertake product and labour market reforms to spur economic growth has grown tremendously. more generally, financial stability issues will be a major focus for policy - makers. various central banks have been given new tasks and responsibilities in this domain. for example, the ecb will contribute to the european systemic risk board ( esrb ) which will conduct macro - prudential oversight at the