export performance. structural improvements have played an important role in the adjustment of current account imbalances and, in fact, cyclical factors are estimated to account for less than half of the adjustment observed so far. 10 export growth has also been the engine of the positive gdp growth rates since the second quarter of 2013 in some crisis countries. with the return to positive growth rates last year, the upward trend in the unemployment rate came to an end in most euro area countries. in emu @ 10, ( 2008 ), “ successes and challenges after ten years of economic and monetary union ”. european economy, nr. 2 / 2008. see s. fahr, r. motto, m. rostagno, f. smets and o. tristani ( 2013 ), “ a monetary policy strategy in good and bad times : lessons from the recent past, ” economic policy, cepr & ces & msh, vol. 28 ( 74 ), pages 243 – 288, 04. see the box “ to what extent has current account adjustment in the stressed euro area countries been cyclical or structural? ”, monthly bulletin, ecb, january 2014, http : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / pub / pdf / mobu / mb201401en. pdf. bis central bankers ’ speeches portugal unemployment has started to decline. let me stress that this is not enough and unemployment rates, particularly among young people, remain unacceptably high in many crisis countries. however, the labour market reforms undertaken give us confidence that unemployment will start falling faster once the recovery picks up. it is, therefore, crucial to continue with the reform process in all euro area countries, including those unaffected by the crisis. undertaking reforms simultaneously can boost gdp more than in a situation where each country acts alone. 11 and importantly, a simultaneous approach will also help to make the reforms more socially acceptable. it will underscore the simple truth that in the euro area we are all in the same boat, and we are all heading in the same direction, across countries as well as within countries. see varga j., j. in ’ t veld ( 2013 ), “ the growth impact of structural reforms ”, quarterly report on the euro area, european commission vol. 12 / 4, page 17 – 27. bis central bankers ’ speeches

we also know that the challenges lying ahead for the euro area are still demanding. what do we need to do, over the next ten years and beyond, to consolidate the remarkable success of the euro and improve the performance of euro area economies? we, at the ecb and the eurosystem, must preserve the quality of our monetary policy. this will safeguard all the benefits expected of price stability in terms of low current and expected inflation and interest rates. to strengthen the “ e ” in emu, we need to focus on a sound economic management and we need to secure a broad base of acceptance for it. this entails : a rigorous implementation of the stability and growth pact ; the completion of the single market ; the implementation of the structural reforms envisaged in the lisbon agenda ; and a careful monitoring of national unit labour costs and competitiveness indicators. the achievements that i have described and the visible benefits of the euro support this sound economic management. these achievements and benefits help national governments to adapt and further liberalise their economies. thank you for your attention. selected references anderton, r., f. di mauro and f. moneta, “ understanding the impact of the external dimension of the euro area : trade, capital flows and other macroeconomic linkages, ” ecb occasional paper no 12, april 2004. asdrubali, f., b. sorensen and o. yosha, “ channels of interstate risk sharing : united states 1963 - 1990 ”, quarterly journal of economics, cxi, november 1996, pp. 1081 - 1110. baele, l., a. ferrando, p. hordahl, e. krylova and c. monnet, “ measuring financial integration in the euro area ”, ecb occasional paper no 14, april 2004. baldwin, r., “ the euro ’ s trade effects, ” ecb working paper no 594, 2006. benalal, n., j. l. diaz del hoyo, b. pierluigi and n. vidalis, “ output growth differentials across the euro area countries : some stylised facts ”, ecb occasional paper no 45, may 2006. blanchard, o., and f. giavazzi, “ macroeconomic effects of regulation and deregulation in goods and labor markets ”, quarterly journal of economics, 118 ( 3 ), august 2003, pp. 879907. cappiello,