ensure the sustainability of the social security systems. the challenges are known and the analyses are completed. now the implementation should be focused on. as i have said at the beginning of my speech, i am neither a eurosceptic nor a europessimist. so i believe europe can implement the lisbon agenda. the introduction of the euro was a splendid example of a not easy but successful structural reform. it can be and it should be followed by others. the framework through which the lisbon agenda is implemented relies largely on a peer pressure mechanism, mainly depending on goodwill of governments in individual eu countries. the pressure must be reinforced, including by clearly identifying and publicising successful and lagging country cases accross the eu and possibly industrialised countries more generally. communication must also be improved. the transition from the pre - reform to the post - reform equilibrium conditions normally takes time and we must recognise that within this period some uncertainty may occur. for this reason the implementation of social reforms requires a strong leadership and a continuous explanation effort. we have to convince our public opinion that our countries would be better off - with more growth and more jobs - if we could deliver the reforms of the lisbon agenda. i shall conclude with a last remark : the current recovery of economic activity, as welcome as it is, must surely not constitute a pretext for postponing a program of reforms, as its implementation is essential to achieve stronger and more sustainable growth in the long term.

the questions that will be dealt with in four of the presentations featured at this conference. two other contributions should help to further deepen our understanding of the interaction between firms ’ characteristics and the costs of entering foreign markets. one of them looks more specifically at the influence of technological change on trade in services. the other one deals with spillover effects, that is, the influence exporters are likely to have on the productivity of other firms, as well as on their propensity to export in their turn. and two last contributions focus on the impact of globalisation on the labour market. the first of these endeavours to study its influence on demand for labour. the second one addresses the question whether the costs related to employment adjustments vary significantly between local firms and multinational enterprises. in my opinion, the issues that will be debated today and tomorrow, during the four sessions of the conference, are extremely interesting, not just for academic circles but also for those involved either closely or indirectly in economic policy decision - making processes. and i strongly urge members of the audience to join in with the discussants, who will be commenting on each paper, and voice their own remarks and ideas. may i take this early opportunity to thank the keynote speakers, the university researchers and those from the bank who have contributed to this conference, as well as the discussants for stimulating the exchange of ideas over the next two days. all that ’ s left for me to do is to hand the floor to peter praet, who will be chairing the first session of this 2010 conference, and to wish you all two very pleasant and instructive days. thank you for your attention.