upward pressure on productivity. third, i believe that we should oversee national reforms to promote growth in a way that is a parallel to the way in which we oversee fiscal policies. here we might draw inspiration from the fiscal compact and the idea of avoiding unsustainable policies in the first place and providing incentives for positive reform. in a single currency area, national reforms that affect growth potential and competitiveness are just as important as fiscal policies because they are equally essential for economic sustainability. fourth, many items that are considered at the national level could be considered at the eu level. for example, measures to foster labour mobility could be implemented, inter alia by facilitating the cross - border portability of pension rights. european funds could be reallocated to areas most conducive to long - term growth and durable employment opportunities. and the capacity of the european investment bank to finance infrastructure projects could be strengthened. as you can see, there is a long - standing agenda on growth. it is time to implement it with determination and confidence about its longer - term benefits. collectively we can compete more effectively in the global economy. collectively we can better support growth and job creation. and collectively we can preserve our common european values of fairness, social cohesion and social progress. 3. considerations regarding the longer - term vision for economic and monetary union let me turn to the broader question about the evolution of the euro area towards a genuine economic union – one that is commensurate with our monetary union. as you know, i am in close contact with presidents herman van rompuy, jose - manuel barroso and jean - claude juncker to reflect on elements of a longer - term vision for our economic and monetary union. ultimately, such a vision can be the basis for a process where objectives, progress, conditions and deadlines are specified ; and where credibility is substantiated by action in the short run that is in line with long - term objectives. since this is a joint effort and our work is still in progress, i cannot provide specifics about this matter as yet. but i can tell you that my reflections are founded on the central aim of securing stability and sustained prosperity for the euro area. price stability will remain a cornerstone of economic and monetary union, as it has been since the beginning. but in order to preserve broader economic stability, we need strengthened foundations in the fields of financial, fiscal and structural policy - making. bis central bankers ’ speeches the strengthened foundations should secure the

jean - pierre roth : what to expect from monetary policy? summary of a speech by mr jean - pierre roth, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the international center for monetary and banking studies ( icmb ), geneva, 25 november 2003. the complete speech can be found in french on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * a number of current issues, such as the weakness of the economy and the new national bank law, raise the question as to what we can expect from monetary policy. with regard to the stability of consumer prices, the answer is relatively simple. the goal of price stability is at the very top of the swiss national bank ’ s priority list. since both inflation and deflation are monetary phenomena over the long term, the snb can and will guarantee price stability in future too. expectations of monetary policy are considerably lower when it comes to regulating economic activity. economic activity in switzerland is strongly dependent on growth abroad. inflation does not bring about long - term economic growth. stable prices, however, are the best precondition for sustained growth. a goal of price stability automatically ensures a degree of stability in the economy. because of uncertainty and time lags, however, fine - tuning the economy is an impossible task. speculative bubbles in the real estate and equity markets have been an increasing source of macroeconomic instability during the past two decades. although equity and property prices serve as important indicators for the future development of economic activity, they are not a goal of monetary policy. many reasons militate against a direct monetary - policy response to changes in asset prices. the question nevertheless arises as to whether monetary policy could not do more to prevent any speculative bubbles from forming in the first place.