the level of heads of state and government, has already decided to double the ceiling for the eu ’ s support facility for balance - of - payments assistance to 50 billion euro. what shall be done in the future? if macroeconomic policies work together in a well - coordinated way globally, i am convinced we will master this crisis and successfully prevent a global depression. but then we should also change the financial system in such a way that such a crisis will not occur again. now in concluding, let me briefly point out some ideas how these changes in the global financial system should look like. first, we need more cooperation or even integration of international financial supervision authorities. that means an end to the formerly common practice of some institutions to shop around for the lowest level of regulation on the globe and hence minimize their degree of supervision. next, i think we must increase the number of institutions subjected to olivier blanchard, antonio spilimbergo, steve symansky, and carlo cottarelli ( 2008 ). “ fiscal policy for the crisis, ” imf staff position note, december 29, 2008. regulations which are at the moment reserved for commercial banks. putting it simple, every single institution that has the capacity to create the kind of trouble a failing bank may create should be regulated like a bank ; i am thinking here of highly leveraged institutions such as hedge funds, the need to regulate which is now generally understood. then we should take a close look at the functioning of the rating agencies. they were wrong on enron, they were wrong on the subprime market and yet their ratings continue to be of enormous importance for access to credit for many firms and even governments. as this importance is based on the assumption of superior information held by these agencies, i really wonder how such an assumption can be sustained any longer. the crisis has shown the importance of international cooperation and the importance of financial institutions like the imf, the eib or the ebrd, as they have been able to help quickly and provide countries in need with appropriate credit lines. whereas the european union should consider establishing certain institutions of its own or at least funding the existing institutions more generously, on a global level the imf has re - established its essential role. with respect to the conditionality of imf loans we might as well question the wisdom of the market whether it is useful to contain public spending strongly in what has turned out to be the most severe crisis for generations. but the results of the g20 summit

as by the need to respond to external demands. the strength of the link between the european economic policy reform process and monetary policy entails the risk that not meeting publicly declared targets will damage the currency's standing. against this background, it is crucial for the future development of emu and the euro that the stability - oriented foundation of emu, e. g. the absolute priority that monetary policy accords price stability or the importance of the stability and growth pact, continues to be upheld. • a third angle for a comparison is the approach to european integration itself. after world war ii, the european " core countries " very quickly occupied themselves with the project of european unification, driven by the ambition to promote reconciliation through integration and cooperation. phases of expansion and deepening followed the foundation of the european union at various intervals. considering that european integration is quite a difficult process on the whole and that individual member states'conceptions of the future of the union diverge, the tenacious progress of this integration process is indeed extraordinary. austria entered the european integration process at a relatively late stage. while the effort to join a larger europe - first as a member of the european free trade association efta, and later as an ec member - was soon part of austria's integration program, whole - hearted participation in european integration was a while in coming. i believe that now that austria is a member of both the eu and the euro area, it has taken this decisive integration step. the enlargement of the european union – a step of great significance for europe and for austria – will place our country even more squarely at the heart of this integrated europe, geographically speaking. opportunities and challenges for austria ’ s economy from the austrian economic perspective, emu is tantamount to a 35 - fold increase in the size of the common currency area to over 300 million consumers. this opens up new perspectives and the opportunity to proactively address the challenges of globalization and heightened competition. the new framework benefits first and foremost the small and medium - sized enterprises ( smes ) in industry and trade, the pillars of growth and employment in the austrian economy. to illustrate the change, according to the most recent figures, some 60 % of austria's imports came from euro area countries in 2001, and some 56 % of its exports were delivered to the euro area. foreign trade with the euro area has, of course, been greatly facilitated by the single currency and by cost savings as a result, above