down, let alone stop, the fiscal convergence process. for one cannot rule out the possibility that monetary union, too, will run into stormy seas some day. in the long run, those hard times will probably demand more community spirit from all the participating countries. and they will demand a greater capacity to act and to take decisions from the eu. this makes it all the more important to rectify the present political deficiencies and to set the stage soon for more political “ community spirit ”. not in the sense of a political super - state, but rather in the clear distribution of responsibilities, and in the capacity to take political action at the european level. though aware of these political deficiencies in procedures and rules, i fully appreciate the current capabilities of the existing european institutions and their great support of the integration process. in particular, i welcome the fact that the recent summit of the european council in berlin has reached – besides the financial agenda – agreement on two important issues : the council has taken a quick and clear decision on the nomination of the president of the next european commission for a full mandate. and the council reaffirmed its commitment to include the democratic states in central and eastern europe in the integration process. in the presidency ’ s conclusions it is said : “ enlargement remains a historic priority for the european union. ” nevertheless, this priority calls for further reforms in the community. otherwise, observers may get the impression that, in some discussions, very little seems to have changed over the past thirty years. as long ago as the summit meeting at the hague in 1969, tension between enlarging and deepening the community was perceptible. at that time, just like today, the heads of government linked an enlargement of the community to reforms in the area of agricultural funding. and, as long ago as that, they didn ’ t dare to take the step towards a clear definition of functions, and towards a clear and new decision - making structure, able to respond quickly and subject to unambiguous parliamentary control. it seems almost like a miracle that, all the same, the community has since grown to fifteen member states, and actually introduced a ( hitherto successful ) euro in eleven countries at the beginning of this year. given these achievements, the community must not now rest on its laurels. the common currency has imparted new momentum to european integration. due advantage must be taken of that stimulus. i very much hope that the euro does not mark

number of times, probably putting the building under some strain. like the palace, the monetary union is no longer in its original state. it is currently going through a transition period, except that in this case, the architects do not know exactly what it will look like in the future. for me, it is not so important whether there will be annexes, structural alterations or even partial demolitions ; nor are the aesthetics of primary importance. rather, it is crucial that the outcome is internally coherent, and that means, above all, that actions and accountability are closely interlinked. thank you very much. 1 deutsche bundesbank ( 2016 ), local government finances : development and selected aspects, october monthly report, pp 13 - 36. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches