proceeding at a balanced pace large global imbalances persist widespread public debt sustainability concerns have emerged links between weak balance sheets of both governments and the banking sector have led to renewed tensions in financial markets, particularly affecting the euro area. at the national level, it is clear that utmost priority must be placed in restoring public debt sustainability, increasing domestic savings and enhancing potential growth in the crisis - hit countries. these are necessary conditions to stabilise external debt and put it on a bis central bankers ’ speeches downward path. these objectives are at the core of the recently approved financial assistance programme to portugal. at the eu level, a new economic governance model is needed to deliver fiscal discipline, prevent sustained losses in competitiveness and promote financial stability. for this purpose, in october 2010, the european council endorsed the proposals put forward by a special task force on economic governance led by president van rompuy. building on the recommendations of the task force, the european parliament and the council adopted, in november 2011, the six legislative proposals presented by the european commission in september 2010. the new economic governance model comprises : a reformed stability and growth pact, aimed at enhancing the surveillance of fiscal policies and applying enforcement measures more consistently and at an earlier stage new provisions aimed at strengthening national fiscal frameworks a new surveillance mechanism of macroeconomic imbalances. it remains to be seen whether the new surveillance framework will prove sufficient to ensure a smooth functioning of the euro area. the current turmoil in financial markets that i have concisely addressed, together with the challenges posed by globalisation and the vulnerability of economies to cross - border financial risks, call for the need to fully and timely capture this evolving reality by means of relevant statistics, produced and disseminated on a regular basis. statistics are a public good. therefore, compiling and communicating top - quality statistics require efficient production and dissemination processes, in line with international standards and in compliance with commitments to national and international organisations. the design, implementation and monitoring of eu policies constantly require statistical support to ensure that the policies address the relevant issues and that the expected results will be achieved. just as eu policies evolve, good statistics have to develop in parallel. in this regard, it is necessary to strike a proper balance between reducing the respondents ’ reporting burden and requiring more data ( e. g., raw micro data ) for compiling high - quality statistics. enhanced collaboration among statistics compilers is also warranted, mainly as regards the interchange of quantitative information and knowledge for statistical purposes. effective and

the link between sovereign risk and bank risk. this is a very important step towards enhanced competitiveness, given that it will make it possible for identical firms in terms of profitability and risks to have similar financing conditions, regardless of their geographical location. moreover, structural reforms should be implemented that induce potential output growth across europe ( e. g. output market deregulation and tax system reforms ). in sum : for a successful adjustment of the portuguese economy and to ensure its prosperity within the monetary union, certain domestic and external conditions must be established. by proving that domestic conditions are in place, external conditions will ensue and be strengthened. in terms of domestic conditions, social cohesion must be ensured and consensus among social partners, as well as a broad consensus between political players, must be reached. the necessary political consensus does not concern policies to be implemented but only the limits and constraints to their definition and implementation ( as i have said on other occasions, although we may have different opinions on how to decorate the living room, we must admit that the living room walls are our limit and our constraint ; in terms of economic policy, the walls in the exercise correspond to the external constraints placed on any given country ). thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches