ahead. as i said earlier, to ensure a proper operation of the policy mix in the euro area a number of reforms are needed in several areas. first, a meaningful revision of the european fiscal framework entailing a paradigm shift that incorporates supranational elements of fiscal burden - sharing, while at the same time guaranteeing full national responsibility. second, a european, medium - term, economic growth - enhancing agenda promoting the development of a flexible, thriving economy, while pursuing deep reforms in all corners of the euro area, and the eu in general. third, the completion of the banking and capital markets unions, to cement a framework that genuinely cushions macro - financial shocks and provide an optimal environment to channel private investment for the climate and digital transitions.

of equity markets and the sizeable home bias in portfolios have significant negative consequences for the smooth functioning of the monetary union. indeed, they set a limit on the capacity of risk - sharing mechanisms in the euro area. moreover, an enhanced capital markets union could improve the channelling of the abundant aggregate savings to satisfy investment needs in the areas of infrastructure, energy and innovation, in which private investment is crucial. for example, according to european commission estimates, the energy transition will require additional investment of over €400 billion each year over the next decade. public investment, and supranational investment coming from the ngeu funds, can only account for a small portion of this amount. moreover, a fundamental, game - changing feature for a more integrated capital market would be the existence of significant pan - european safe assets. a common safe asset would most likely become a common benchmark, allowing the prices of equities and bonds across the euro area to reflect fundamental risk more clearly. it would facilitate the development and integration of capital and financial markets in the euro area, as flight - to - quality movements would no longer imply flight - to - core - countries movements. this would be particularly relevant in times of stress, when it would help mitigate the possibility of monetary policy transmission being hampered in a context of fragmented bond markets. in this sense, the experience with the issuances to finance the sure and ngeu programmes can serve as the prototype for this safe asset. although relatively small in size, they have been a success in terms of market appetite and have helped most member states reduce costs because of the pooled financing ( see slide 9 ). final reflections as i mentioned at the beginning of my address, the fiscal - monetary policy mix has passed the demanding test posed by the covid - 19 crisis, so far, with good marks. the ad hoc decisions taken by policymakers were adequate, and compensated for the lack of a complete euro area institutional architecture, enabling monetary and fiscal policies to do their job, without overburdening each other. incidentally, the immediate tests we face are normalising fiscal policies once the recent improvement in the economic outlook proves to be sufficiently sustainable and adjusting the extraordinary monetary policy measures we introduced once the ecb ’ s medium - term inflation target is considered to be sustainably achieved. going forward, the challenge is how to enshrine this success story in a stable and predictable framework, while also taking into account a number of additional challenges that lay