domestic cofinancing funds. possible solutions include e. g. public - private partnerships. finally, the fiscal crisis again underlined the importance of competitiveness ( feldkircher et al., 2010 ), which has to be supported especially by wage developments. however, the wage level remains above the level in cis countries and china. this puts the cesee region under significant pressure. let me conclude and stress that catching - up strategies after the crisis represent an important policy challenge for the next few years. having successfully weathered the storms of the worst financial and economic crisis of postwar history, the euro has been and will continue to be an important anchor of growth in a broader european region. this conference demonstrates readiness to open a discussion about future growth models. we will have a unique possibility to compare views from countries that have not yet joined the eu or the euro area with the experience of eu and euro area members. i am looking very much forward to hearing, discussing and learning from the opinions of policymakers, bankers and academics over the next two days. it is now a great pleasure for me to welcome our first keynote speaker, vitor constancio, the vice president of the european central bank. mr. constancio, the floor is yours! references backe, p. and c. wojcik, ( 2008 ) : “ credit booms, monetary integration and the new neoclassical synthesis ”, journal of banking & finance, 32, 458 – 470. dvorsky, s., scheiber, t. and h. stix ( 2010 ) : “ real effects of crisis have reached cesee households : euro survey shows dampened savings and changes in borrowing behavior. ” focus on european economic integration, oesterreichische nationalbank, no. 2, 79 – 90. ecb ( 2010 ) : the international role of the euro. http : / / www. ecb. int / pub / pdf / other / euro - international - role201007en. pdf. ecb, frankfurt, feldkircher, m., martin, r., and j. worz ( 2010 ) : measuring competition in cesee : stylized facts and determinants across countries and sectors. focus on european economic integration no 3, 38 – 62. fidrmuc, j. and c. hainz ( 2010 ) : default rates in the loan market for smes : evidence from slovakia, economic systems 34 ( 2 )

klaus liebscher : the euro and european integration – an austrian viewpoint luncheon speech by dr klaus liebscher, governor of the austrian nationalbank, at the international bankers forum, luxembourg, 9 april 2002. * * * introduction it was with great pleasure that i accepted your kind invitation to address such a distinguished audience and to speak about the austrian experience with european integration. in former times, luxembourg has had a very turbulent past - often triggered by the habsburgs - with countries taking turns in slicing pieces off the grand duchy. after world war ii, however, luxembourg together with the other founding countries of what is now the european union ( eu ) symbolizes the building of a united europe carried out in a spirit of negotiation and dialogue. for me as an austrian citizen, luxembourg also stands for all of the benefits especially smaller countries can derive from the eu. it may still be the tiniest state of the eu according to size but luxembourg is also one of its most prosperous ones. the grand duchy is one of the three institutional centers of the union and very often feeds new elements into the debate of and about the eu and as a result helps bigger countries to reach agreement. thus, luxembourg enjoys an influence in the eu beyond its small size and is an example of european co - operation at every level. successful euro changeover since march 1 of this year, all legacy currencies of the euro have been phased out and new euro banknotes and coins have become the legal tender in 12 of the 15 member states of the european union ( eu ). today, more than 300 million citizens in europe share the same currency. the process of monetary integration as laid down in the maastricht treaty has found its tangible expression and culminating point in the everyday life of the citizens of the euro area. from my point of view this historic cash changeover has been completed very successfully with the broad - and often enthusiastic - support of the european citizens. the changeover of the old national banknotes and coins of the 12 countries of the euro area has been a highly challenging project - and its success has far exceeded our expectations. this is also true for austria, where we had an exceptionally successful cash changeover. the austrian population accepted the new currency with unforeseen enthusiasm from the very beginning. before the introduction of euro banknotes and coins, the public - not only in austria - had some concern about potential inflationary effects due to the rounding up of prices, long queues in shops because of