often underestimated link between reform and the changeover to the euro : indeed, the introduction of banknotes and coins in euro is a major structural reform in itself, as it constitutes a powerful drive towards restructuring the european economy, and a strong lever to facilitate the comparison of prices, taxes and incomes between the member states. in my view, three other major prerequisites are needed in order to foster robust, sustainable growth and durable job creation, namely : the continuation and strengthening of a policy designed to keep in check unit production costs, the improvement of the competitiveness of the economy, through ambitious structural reforms and lastly, the completion of a fully integrated european capital market. raising the potential output growth and enhancing the competitiveness of the economy : if europe wants to secure sustainable growth at levels that are as high as possible, the key variable is potential output growth. the level of potential output growth can firstly be raised thanks to investment : business leaders are completely free to invest wherever they want in europe or elsewhere in the world. it is thus important that we create economic, legal and fiscal conditions that are as favourable as possible to investment in europe. the investment appeal of europe is crucial in this respect : the more we invest, the fewer inflationary pressures we will have, and the stronger potential output growth will be. another way of raising potential output growth is to increase the quantity of available labour and to boost gains in labour productivity : the fast transformation of information systems is likely to accentuate the structural transformation of the economies. since last year, the evolution of stock exchanges has shown that the euphoria associated with the concept of a totally new economic era has vanished, but what remains true is that a remarkable potential of economic changes remains for the future. it may help to boost labour productivity significantly on a recurring basis, and, in so doing, to boost production while preserving the economy ’ s competitive edge. that strategy should be pursued whilst increasing the overall competitiveness of europe ’ s economy. if i refer to what we observed in the past, the french economic strategy, based on a moderation in the increase of unit costs of production, gave us an important advantage : the considerable improvement in the cost competitiveness of the french industrial sector from the mid - 1980s has contributed extensively to the growth of our economy. the french economy grew faster than the other major euro area economies in recent years, while repeatedly recording a large current account surplus. this was largely because, from early 1987, production costs,

, later, the euro area. in this context, it should be ensured that there is no discrepancy between the central banks ’ formal status in the legislation and the implementation of that legislation. it is of utmost importance that all present and future member states respect this economic and institutional ground rule of the european framework. • fifthly, let us not forget the present and future contribution of central and eastern european countries to the economic prosperity of europe at large. it seems that this contribution might be sometimes underestimated, while the relative influence of the us economy, for instance, might be sometimes overestimated. in fact, transition economies, as a whole, are as important as the us in terms of external demand addressed to the euro area : they both enjoy the same share, i. e. 13 %, of our exports. and, during the last two years, transition economies contributed for two - thirds to the overall growth of our total external demand, while the us contributed for less than 0. 1 %. more generally speaking, central and eastern europe countries are already major contributors to the overall growth on the european continent. in 2001, despite the international context, they remained at quite high a level of growth, around 2. 8 %. this contribution is bound to further increase given these countries ’ considerable potential for growth. i would like to conclude on this topic with a last remark : the eu enlargement is indeed an historic challenge for european integration. it will represent the most important enlargement process the european union has ever faced. as a result, it has to be prepared with a great deal of care, and much remains to be done. the process of convergence will be very gradual and needs to be enhanced through multilateral surveillance and co - operation between the current members states and the accession countries. for its part, the eurosystem is actively contributing to this task, by deepening its relationship with the accession countries central banks. * * * to conclude, let me stress three words : rapidity, stability and union. rapidity is a key word. we have not much time to meditate, decide, implement. the structural reforms, that we are badly in need of, must be implemented as rapidly as possible if we want europe to be up to its historical challenges. the chinese say “ it is later than you think ” has never been so true. in any case, history itself does not wait for us. and when i look back, over the last