few would deny that where european institutions have been invested with executive power, they have used it well. competition policy has been effective with both large companies and large countries. monetary policy has achieved a high degree of policy credibility. and for the ssm it is perhaps too early to judge, though i am certain we would not have had such a rigorous clean - up of our banking sector without it. if we look at the rules - based approach, however, it is difficult to reach such a positive conclusion. the fiscal rules have repeatedly been broken and trust between countries has been strained. and for economic policies rules - based approaches – such as the macroeconomic imbalance procedure – have so far not attracted much ownership from national policy - makers. so in my view the conclusion from recent experience is clear : if we agree that further institutional convergence is needed in the structural domain, then our long - term goal must be to move from a rules - based system to one based on stronger european institutions. 9 i must stress however that to make such a step, we first have to respect and follow the rules we have now. if we look at monetary policy as an example, we did not begin by creating a new institution. this would have been impossible. we had a series of rules - based systems – the “ snake ”, the european monetary system, the exchange rate mechanism – the experience of which led us to create the single currency and the european central bank. these various stages were however essential, because they gradually built trust between countries and led to a convergence of views about how best to conduct monetary policy. so there is no question today that the rules can be ignored because institutions would be better. on the contrary, it is only by following our rules that we can establish the mutual trust on which future institutions can be built. it is essential that the european parliament makes this process its own and imbues it with democratic legitimacy. 5. conclusion the way forward for the euro area that i have described today may seem simple, but it isn ’ t. it requires vision and perseverance. all those involved have to play their part in a sustained economic recovery. see my speech at sz finance day 2015, frankfurt http : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / press / key / date / 2015 / html / sp150316. en. html. am main, march 2015, bis central bankers ’ speeches but i also recognise that, in the process, we must not lose

this enlargement, both in political as well as economic terms, are clear. however, this does not make it less of a challenge, also for the ecb and the national central banks. from mid april onwards, the national central banks of the acceding countries will participate - as an observer - in meeting of escb committees ( in extended composition ) and meetings of the general council. enlargement involves a number of technical efforts from the side of the ecb and the national central bank, in terms of adaptations to the infrastructure, but also creates a new dimension to economic convergence and monetary stability in the european union. i am, however, convinced that the eurosystem will also master this challenge, as it has done before, on occasions, which demanded even more breath - taking efforts. ladies and gentlemen, i should now like to conclude. again, my gratitude goes to his excellency carlo ciampi and governor antonio fazio. i am deeply convinced that this meeting of the governing council will contribute to the team - sprit of the eurosystem and hence will be one more step in the direction of a united europe.