go a long way, not only in bolstering the trend of long - run growth but also in reducing the fluctuations around that trend. 7 such reforms are the means of addressing the ongoing adjustment difficulties faced by the economy and of preventing secular stagnation – which is not inevitable. however, such reforms are outside of the scope of monetary policy and fall under the remit of other national and european policymakers. as the benefits of structural reforms can take time to materialise, they must be implemented without undue delay and are needed in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures. the highly accommodative stance of monetary policy creates ideal conditions for the implementation of structural policies, as it can help to cushion the potential short - term adjustment costs of such policies by supporting current demand conditions. to conclude, the euro area economic recovery remains resilient despite the continued headwinds stemming from global economic and political uncertainties. nevertheless, in order to transform the cyclical recovery into a structural one, and thereby ensure resilience of growth in the long - run, other policymakers must play their part. the support to demand from monetary policy must be complemented with supply policies that bolster the potential growth, productivity and flexibility of the euro area economy. 1 i would like to thank danielle kedan for her contributions to this speech. 2 ecb bank lending survey, october 2016. 3 ecb survey on the access to finance of enterprises in the euro area, october 2015 to march 2016. 4 see ecb, “ small and medium - sized enterprises in the euro area : economic importance and financing conditions ”, box 6, ecb monthly bulletin, july 2013. 5 european commission, european economic forecast, autumn 2016. 6 for further discussion, see praet, p., “ lifting potential growth in the euro area ”, speech at the welt - wahrungskonferenz, 23 april 2015. 7 for further details, see praet, p. “ structural reforms and long - run growth in the euro area ”, intervention on panel at 43rd economics conference of oesterreichische nationalbank, 15 june 2015. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

an extraordinary expression of solidarity. but they tend to see the euro area too much as a club with free membership, giving them the right to a certain number of services. however, participation in the euro brings with it a duty of solidarity when your neighbour is going through a rough patch. while it ’ s true that the member states fulfilled their duty towards greece, ireland, portugal, cyprus and spain, they did so under conditions that were extremely costly, or even toxic, on a political level. the adjustment programmes generated huge tensions and acrimony. and, conversely, you need to keep your own house in order to avoid creating problems for your neighbours. countries can have whatever economic policy they want, that ’ s democracy, but on the condition that they do not jeopardise their neighbours. to that end, the members of the club need to observe certain rules. in reality, however, countries have little regard for those rules. one day we will need to create ad hoc institutions, including an authority in charge of a euro area budget which would embody the collective interest, have decision - making powers and be accountable before the european parliament. for as long as that is not in place, we will have to cross our fingers and hope that no crisis occurs. so is the ecb making up for the failure of political will? yes. the lack of coordination in the fiscal domain means that we are the ones who are doing the work. i dream of a euro area with a strong and democratic political base, which would alleviate the burden on the ecb.. the politicisation of the ecb results from the weakness of the political pillar of economic and monetary union. some people accuse the ecb of doing too much and of not being democratic enough, but the excessive expectations projected onto the ecb are only a reflection of political weakness. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches