of time and avoids being led away by sensations or climates. the economy progresses in long, slow cycles even though the day - to - day events may at times overwhelm us. we have seen tremendous progress in the chilean economic press. the specialized journalists have played an outstanding role in contributing to a better informed society, better equipped for decision - making. as in all fields, there is always room for further improvement. from our side, we are always available to contribute to explaining or advising on complex phenomena. final remarks i would like to finish with some comments on a matter that has concerned me for some time which is, on what subjects a central bank board member can talk, and in particular the governor of the bank who is the official spokesman. there is no formal restriction, but there is a practical limit which is that no board member would like to spoil his professional and communicational reputation by speaking without well - founded arguments. it is true that the bank has a limited mission but it also has an excellent group of economists. for example, at the request of the senate financial committee, studies have been carried out at the bank on the long - term growth of the chilean economy and both myself and my predecessor have written articles on the same topic ( corbo and tokman, 2007 ; de gregorio, 2008 ). it is possible to speak and research on relevant topics as long as we do not stray far from our fundamental task. a few weeks ago, ben bernanke gave a speech on the challenges of health reform in the united states ( bernanke, 2008 ) and ten years ago alan greenspan gave a speech on income distribution ( greenspan, 1998 ). just as the central bank asks that its autonomy is respected, which is far from not accepting criticism, the bank must also respect the decisions of other institutions. here the balance is certainly tenuous. in any case, as a policy, the central bank at the moment of making a decision and defining scenarios takes as given what happens in other spheres of national life. there is no clear rule, but there are some principles. first, the central bank must be rigorous in referring to all matters that have macroeconomic impact and consequently condition its actions. secondly, when the connection is not so straightforward, we must be particularly cautious, especially when politically controversial subjects are involved. the central bank is a technical and autonomous institution and must take great care that the messages it puts out are not used politically. there are some very

in the past few years : large increases in commodity prices, notably oil prices, and geopolitical tensions ; the pressures of global competition ; uncertainty and the short - term impact of certain reforms to modernise the welfare state and prepare social security systems for population ageing ; and – last, but by no means least – uncertainty about the current and future stance of fiscal policies in many euro area countries. if we can agree on this diagnosis of the reasons for low growth in europe, the elements of a remedy are already emerging. the lisbon agenda – especially after its recent refinement and refocusing, which the ecb strongly supports – addresses many of the structural weaknesses of the euro area economy. it is no coincidence that countries which score highest with regard to the achievement of the lisbon goals are also the ones with the most robust growth performances over recent years. the example of the nordic countries shows how reforms of tax and benefit systems can encourage labour participation ; how investment in education and training and how greater diffusion of advances in information and communication technologies can spur productivity growth ; and how structural reforms in labour and product markets – in a process of schumpeterian “ creative destruction ” – can open up new avenues for growth. robust growth in europe is not a “ mission impossible ”. it can be done. and it can be done without abolishing the basic features of what we call the european social model. can it be done inside monetary union? the single monetary policy, conducted for the euro area as a whole, is playing its part already – notably by providing a low inflation environment with favourable financing conditions. and, of course, the euro has eliminated, once and for all, the intra - euro area exchange rate volatility. the revised fiscal framework of the stability and growth pact – if implemented in a rigorous and responsible fashion – still has the capacity to guide national fiscal policies on a sustainable path, thus bolstering confidence, reducing uncertainty and fostering growth. but clearly, the onus is on national policies, especially structural policies to promote growth, competitiveness and employment. thankfully, things are moving : throughout the euro area, we see governments embarking on structural reforms, some courageously, others somewhat more timidly. some euro area countries – notably germany, but also france, austria, belgium and finland – have made significant progress in improving competitiveness over the past few years. and competitiveness is a key determinant of longterm growth. of course, europe