’ t count. a cynic believes the long run doesn ’ t matter. a realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run ”. i believe it is imperative to convey, not only the short - term outlook for the euro area, but also to dispel certain generalisations regarding the ongoing adjustment in europe and the longrun vision for economic and monetary union. in this context, allow me to briefly outline what i would consider, a “ realist ’ s assessment ”. bis central bankers ’ speeches the on - going adjustment in emu the adjustment in the eurozone is underway. there is also no doubt it is painful, especially for the people in some countries of the periphery. however, let me give you some evidence of what has actually been achieved. in programme countries, we have seen a strong improvement of structural primary balances since 2009. in greece, for example, this is estimated to have improved by more than 14 percentage points of gdp between 2009 and 2012. to put this into context, in this country, the “ sequester ” calls for cuts of 1. 2 trillion dollars over ten years. the equivalent of what greece has done would have meant for the us an adjustment of 1. 6 trillion dollars over three years. in emu, this adjustment is being undertaken within a reinforced fiscal framework – a new set of rules – which strengthens the ability to prevent and correct the accumulation of excessive deficits. furthermore, a new framework for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances has been established. and also on this front, a very large correction of external imbalances is visible. in greece, portugal and ireland, the current account balances have each improved by more than 7 percentage points of gdp between 2008 and 2012. it is true that much of the adjustment has been driven by a contraction in domestic demand. however, in ireland and portugal export performance has also been strong, because programme countries are now reaping the benefits from their significant improvement in cost competitiveness. this is evident from the significant reduction in unit labour costs. for greece, ireland and portugal we see about a 10 percentage point improvement relative to the euro area average. the adjustment in ireland has been spectacular, and translates into about an 18 percentage point improvement between 2008 and 2012. this means that the past excesses have by and large been undone. government bond spreads now fluctuate at much lower levels compared with the peak of the crisis.

benoit cœure : interview in le figaro interview with mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in le figaro, conducted by ms alexandrine bouilhet on 4 april 2014. * * * le figaro : isn ’ t the strong growth seen in the financial markets out of touch with economic reality? benoit cœure : markets are anticipating economic recovery. that is a good sign, and we think they are right! it is not a bad thing in itself to anticipate a recovery! we at the ecb believe that the recovery is already underway, albeit a gradual and fragile one, and so we want to accompany it with low, or even lower, interest rates for a prolonged period. is this strong growth not already creating bubbles? in our opinion, no – not in the euro area. but, in a period of very low interest rates, there is a need for vigilance. if this risk were to materialise, supervisory authorities in the member states have new “ macro - prudential ” instruments at their disposal, not to mention the other macroeconomic measures. is the ecb really ready to start quantitative easing ( qe )? yes, the governing council is unanimous in its commitment to using unconventional instruments, including qe, if the current period of low inflation extends for longer than expected. we do not consider that necessary at present, because the low level of inflation is partly due to temporary factors and we believe in the recovery : inflation should therefore increase. but we will continue to monitor developments very closely and act if required. how can qe help to increase lending? that is the question! even if qe means there is more liquidity on banks ’ balance sheets, there is no guarantee of that increasing lending. the ecb cannot be a substitute for putting the banking sector back on a sound footing. the review of banks ’ balance sheets that we are carrying out in 2014 will help. qe in the european context would inevitably be different to the approach taken in the united states. on that issue, mario draghi has weakened the euro. why? market participants have now fully understood that the exchange rate is not an objective of our monetary policy, but it is nevertheless an important variable in our decision - making because of its influence on price developments. in a period of low inflation, the effects of exchange rate developments are closely monitored. what should be done to weaken the euro further? another reason