well imagine, the crisis in several euro area countries has absorbed much of our energy and attention in the past years at the ecb and in the national central banks. however, we remain committed to international cooperation, and in particular to technical cooperation with central banks of eu candidate and potential candidate countries. as regards the current crisis, let me briefly mention the two most relevant areas policymakers need to focus on looking forward. structural reforms, financial repair and fiscal consolidation at the national level are key and need to be pursued vigorously in the financially stressed euro area countries. there is simply no viable alternative. at the european level, further improving the institutional framework, the governance of the euro area is of utmost importance. bis central bankers ’ speeches while emu needs to be complemented with elements of a stronger fiscal, economic and political union, the most pressing need is to implement a comprehensive and effective banking union. we learnt the hard way how quickly and severely financial sector problems in one country can spread to another. we also experienced the severity of negative feedback loops between sovereigns and banks. national supervisors have been heavily challenged by crossborder banking and financial activities. ultimately, a monetary union with a single currency, a single monetary policy and increasing financial integration cannot function properly if financial stability policies ( regulation, supervision and resolution ) remain at the national level. the setting up of a banking union with the single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ) and the single resolution mechanism ( srm ) as core elements is therefore key and will enhance the quality of supervision and the credibility of the system and remove the misalignment between the institutional frameworks for monetary policy and financial stability. given the close economic and financial links between the euro area and south - eastern europe, it goes without saying that progress in addressing the crisis in the euro area is in the interest of countries in this region. the ssm may bring particular benefits, as subsidiaries or branches of euro area banks are of systemic importance in the financial systems of many south - eastern european countries. in addition to enhancing the quality of supervision of parent banks, the ssm has the potential to facilitate home - host country cooperation in banking supervision. i am confident that future new members of the eu, and eventually of the euro area, will ultimately accede to a stronger union. in this context, a key lesson from the crisis for eu candidates and potential candidates is that membership of the eu and the euro area should not be seen as an end in itself, but rather as a means

speech a new global map : european resilience in a changing world keynote speech by christine lagarde, president of the ecb, at the peterson institute for international economics washington, d. c., 22 april 2022 it is a pleasure to be in washington to speak with you today. the economic fallout from russia ’ s invasion of ukraine may mark a defining moment for globalisation in the 21st century. russia ’ s unprovoked aggression has triggered a fundamental reassessment of economic relations and dependencies in our globalised economy. and in a post - invasion world, it has become increasingly untenable to isolate trade from universal values such as respect for international law and human rights. throughout human history, economic relations and values have fundamentally shaped how we understand and interact with the world. this point is well captured by those world maps from medieval times. these mappae mundi, as they are known, depicted world views informed by trade links and value systems. well - trodden trade routes from ancient times meant that asia and north africa figured prominently in them. mappae mundi, like the famous ebstorf map, often portrayed the holy city of jerusalem at the centre of the world. today, rising geopolitical tensions mean our global economy is changing. and once more, fluctuating value systems and shifting alliances are creating a new global map of economic relations. it is still too early to say how this will play out, but one can already see the emergence of three distinct shifts in global trade. these are the shifts from dependence to diversification, from efficiency to security, and from globalisation to regionalisation. these shifts have implications for europe. and we must respond accordingly if we are to thrive in this new and increasingly uncertain global terrain. but that does not mean restricting open trade. rather, we must work towards making trade safer in these unpredictable times, while also leveraging our regional strength. that will not be easy. but as christopher columbus once said, “ you can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. ” globalisation past and present the years following the fall of the berlin wall marked a golden era for globalisation. the drive for increased efficiency saw global value chains blossoming alongside a rising tide of trade, with production becoming increasingly unbundled across borders. today, around half of global trade is related to global value chain, or gvc activities. europe in particular benefited from the