for workable institutions and a clear focus. the eu needs to concentrate on tasks which can be better performed at the european level than the national – tasks that offer clear european added value. areas in which this added value may be found include defence, the protection of external borders, migration policy, climate protection or the expansion of digital networks. a common asylum policy driven by a spirit of solidarity, for example, would also help individual member states to feel less disadvantaged and abandoned on account of their geographical location. on the other hand, the tasks that can be better handled domestically than at the european level should be re - allocated to the national or regional level, in line with the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the eu treaty. focusing the eu in this way would help making europe stronger. 4 conclusion ladies and gentlemen the ancient agora can teach us several important lessons. for one thing, it provides early evidence that markets function more efficiently if the state sets an incentive - compatible framework in terms of smart regulation and law enforcement. the liability principle is essential. and institutions matter. that was true for the functioning of ancient marketplaces and that is true for the economic and monetary union. " the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. " this sentence, which is attributed to aristotle, concisely sums up the idea of european integration. in this context, greece is more than the cradle of western civilisation : it is very much a part of europe, and a prosperous greece will contribute to making the whole greater. a more stable economic and monetary union is in our common interest. much has been done – in the member states as well as at the european level. these days, a shock similar to a sovereign debt crisis would not find the euro area as ill - prepared as it was in the past. but the euro area is not yet fully crisis - proof. there is still need for further action. however, making the 6 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches euro area more stable does not require us to decide between solidarity and solidity. the opposite is true : we need both solidarity and solidity. σας ευχαριστω πολυ. thank you very much for your attention. 1 p b shelley ( 1821 ), hellas, preface. 2 k r popper ( 1963 ), conjectures and refutations : the growth of scientific knowledge, published 2002 by routledge, p. 501. 3 j gauck

to curb the declining level of pensions. yet, this is driving up labour costs and reining in the competitiveness of the german economy. it is thus essential not to pull this level too far. i believe that the same applies to a tax - financed increase in the federal grant. as things are at the moment, the federal grant will already have to rise more sharply than tax revenue. an additional increase would then either mean putting up taxes or cutting spending elsewhere. there ’ s only so much pressure that the federal budget can take. bundesbank experts, amongst others, have been pointing to the third lever – the statutory retirement age – for some time now. life expectancy has been rising steadily to date, meaning longer and longer pension - drawing periods but stagnant contribution periods. this all points in favour of raising the retirement age beyond 67. and studies show that higher life expectancy also means better health. 11 if some individuals do need to retire earlier for health reasons, the system of pensions for people with reduced earning capacity is already in place and has recently been expanded considerably. however, this pension system should not be abused for early retirement in general. the challenge here is to set the eligibility criteria as objectively as possible to avoid undermining the aim of raising the retirement age. countries such as denmark and the netherlands have already pegged their statutory retirement age to life expectancy. there, the retirement age is set to rise to 68 in 2030 and might even exceed the 70 mark by 2050. on the back of a long period of economic growth, germany is currently basking in very favourable public finances. however, burdens stemming from demographic change are looming on the horizon. moreover, we cannot kid ourselves that the current period of economic prosperity will last forever. now is precisely the time for fiscal policymakers to safeguard their capacity for effective intervention. these calls go out, not least, to those countries in europe where debt levels are still very high and have not come down by much in the past few years. these countries are benefiting, in particular, from the current low interest rates. but it would be wrong to simply expect things to stay this way. monetary policy needs to return to normal and interest rates will then rise again. and it is the highly indebted countries that will feel 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches the strain. the stability pact, moreover, requires member states to have a medium - term objective of a structurally close - to - balance