- term plans and implementation of the existing procedures. in particular, countries that still have sizeable fiscal imbalances should take advantage of the coming upswing to strengthen their budgetary positions and attain the targets presented in their stability programmes. finally, in order to put the expected recovery on a broad and sustainable basis, it is of the utmost importance that euro area countries now strengthen their efforts to implement comprehensive structural reforms. over the past few years, considerable progress has been made in enhancing the flexibility of the euro area's product and capital markets, as well as in improving the way its labour markets operate. these reforms, together with moderate wage developments, have contributed to the strong employment growth and the considerable reduction in unemployment witnessed in many euro area countries in the last cyclical upswing. however, unemployment is still intolerably high and much more remains to be done. in this context, it is important to make headway with the reform agenda put forward in the lisbon strategy. we should just not accept that the recovery might again be constrained by the unsatisfactory potential growth level. the sound macroeconomic situation which can be expected presents a perfect opportunity to accelerate badly needed reforms. this requires the acceleration of financial market reforms as well as product markets reforms, such as those related to network industries. as regards labour market reforms, it is worth noting that despite the continued high level of unemployment in the euro area significant mismatches between labour supply and demand in a number of areas in euro area countries are still reported. as concluded in a recent report prepared by eurosystem experts, published on 11 march, this provides evidence that despite some improvements, there is still much work to be done in the labour market reform process. with respect to reform on the financial markets, the ecb very much supports the implementation of the procedures suggested in the lamfalussy report on securities regulation. the ecb believes that the procedures suggested in this report will allow for a swift implementation of the priorities set out in the financial services action plan relating to the integration of securities markets. the reform of financial market regulation, also including the other measures foreseen in the action plan, will complement and enhance the effects of reform in the labour and product market.

ewart s williams : lessons from the financial crisis address by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the launch of the ansa euro income fund, port - of - spain, 17 november 2009. * * * i am pleased to participate in this ceremony this evening, not to endorse the merits of any particular product, since obviously ; it is not something that the central bank as regulator could do. instead, i want to commend this initiative which, to me, in this challenging economic environment, represents a vote of confidence in the economy and another step towards the development of the capital market. it is certainly a positive note against the background of the negative hum that has overwhelmed us for the past several months. globally, the negative news has been around for much longer – for more than eighteen months or so, following the financial meltdown that has been attributed to a variety of factors, and the sharp global recession that ensued. even now when there are signs of recovery, we have become so jaded that most projections are now accompanied by a series of caveats in which the downside risks are given equal prominence. now in the us, uk and eurozone there are signs of recovery – green shoots, we are told – but we are advised not to rule out the possibility of a double - dip recession, meaning another likely downturn in 2010, or an l - shaped recession, meaning that we may just face a prolonged period of slow, tepid growth or virtual stagnation. i guess the cautiousness that now engulfs policy makers in the advanced economies is, in part, a reflection of how far they have come : how close we have been to a collapse of the global financial system and how deep the recession has been in several of the advanced countries. i guess that the concerns that now pervade the developed countries also have to do with the recognition of the colossal re - balancing that is taking place in the world – a re - balancing that has meant a shift in the poles of global growth from the us and europe and for a while japan, to the new powers – china and india and the smaller economies in asia along with one or two emerging market countries in latin america, like brazil and chile. the caribbean, including us here in trinidad and tobago, has also had more than its share of bad news. up the islands, tourism is sharply down and with unemployment in the us topping 10 per cent, workers