’ t count. a cynic believes the long run doesn ’ t matter. a realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run ”. i believe it is imperative to convey, not only the short - term outlook for the euro area, but also to dispel certain generalisations regarding the ongoing adjustment in europe and the longrun vision for economic and monetary union. in this context, allow me to briefly outline what i would consider, a “ realist ’ s assessment ”. bis central bankers ’ speeches the on - going adjustment in emu the adjustment in the eurozone is underway. there is also no doubt it is painful, especially for the people in some countries of the periphery. however, let me give you some evidence of what has actually been achieved. in programme countries, we have seen a strong improvement of structural primary balances since 2009. in greece, for example, this is estimated to have improved by more than 14 percentage points of gdp between 2009 and 2012. to put this into context, in this country, the “ sequester ” calls for cuts of 1. 2 trillion dollars over ten years. the equivalent of what greece has done would have meant for the us an adjustment of 1. 6 trillion dollars over three years. in emu, this adjustment is being undertaken within a reinforced fiscal framework – a new set of rules – which strengthens the ability to prevent and correct the accumulation of excessive deficits. furthermore, a new framework for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances has been established. and also on this front, a very large correction of external imbalances is visible. in greece, portugal and ireland, the current account balances have each improved by more than 7 percentage points of gdp between 2008 and 2012. it is true that much of the adjustment has been driven by a contraction in domestic demand. however, in ireland and portugal export performance has also been strong, because programme countries are now reaping the benefits from their significant improvement in cost competitiveness. this is evident from the significant reduction in unit labour costs. for greece, ireland and portugal we see about a 10 percentage point improvement relative to the euro area average. the adjustment in ireland has been spectacular, and translates into about an 18 percentage point improvement between 2008 and 2012. this means that the past excesses have by and large been undone. government bond spreads now fluctuate at much lower levels compared with the peak of the crisis.

øystein olsen : management of the government pension fund global ( gpfg ) introductory statement by mr øystein olsen, governor of the norges bank ( central bank of norway ), before the standing committee on finance and economic affairs of the storting ( norwegian parliament ), oslo, 25 april 2014. * * * please note that the text below may differ from the actual presentation. i would like to thank the chairman of the committee for the invitation to speak on the management of the government pension fund global. the framework for the management of the gpfg rests on a clear division of responsibilities and roles between owner and manager. the government and the storting decide the key principles and guidelines for the gpfg. norges bank ’ s role is to secure the highest possible return over time within the framework established by the political authorities. since the first capital transfer in 1996, the gpfg has grown to over nok 5 trillion. a third of this amount – nok 1. 8 trillion – is the return. achieving returns requires risk - taking. the gpfg ’ s investment horizon is particularly long and its short - term risk capacity is high, which is the reason behind the relatively high allocation to equities. this is also the reason for adding other asset classes, such as real estate. we can outperform the market by taking advantage of these specific features in its investment choices. when new companies become listed, they are included in the equity indices. in some cases, we can achieve better terms by investing in new companies ahead of a planned listing. as the gpfg has grown so has norges bank ’ s experience in investment management. the investment universe has broadened. every year new emerging economies are added to the list of countries in which we can invest. the aim is always to improve the trade - off between risk and return over time. the gpfg is subject to an extensive governance and control framework. the ministry of finance draws up the mandate for investment management. norges bank ’ s executive board has laid down, pursuant to the mandate, further detailed guidelines for the ceo of norges bank investment management. pursuant to these guidelines, norges bank investment management makes decisions concerning individual investments. control and supervision of investment management follow the same lines as the delegation of investment decisions. risk and return are routinely reported to the executive board and discussed at its meetings. norges bank reports on investment management to the gpfg ’ s