speech by governor lars rohde at the vl summit 7 june check against delivery 7 june 2018 europe – an economic powerhouse in the future? thank you for inviting me to speak at this summit. it is a great pleasure to have the chance to share my views on how to foster sustainable growth in europe. the subject is more important than ever. let me start by emphasizing one thing : despite imperfections – the european single market has been an engine of growth. it has acted as a catalyst for trade and the free exchange of labour, capital and knowhow. at a time when anti - globalization draws headlines, these fundamental rights should not be taken for granted. in fact, i believe they are at the core for making europe more prosperous in the future. * * * * [ slide 2 : key messages ] today, i would like to highlight four observations : first, europe is better than its reputation. economic performance keeps abreast with other advanced economies. the rumours of its demise are simply exaggerated. side 1 af 8 second, all major advanced economies will have to adjust to lower potential growth. it's a fact, as headwind from slowing productivity growth and ageing kicks in. europe is no exception. third, free global competition is the main driver of innovation. europe suffers from an r & d gap relative to global hotspots. but innovation is not a zero - sum game : prosperous neighbours do not make europeans worse off. in fact, productive rivalry stimulates new ideas. finally, europe needs a fully developed single market for financial services. the single market has been an engine of growth for decades but is still incomplete. the banking union is an important step towards allowing consumers and businesses to reap the benefits from cross - border competition. it will also be the case for denmark – if we join. please allow me to expand on these points one by one. * * * [ slide 3 : europe is better than its reputation ] the organizers of this debate asked us to answer the question : how can europe crack the code for getting back on the growth track? well, it implies that we somehow went off track. but is europe really doing that badly? i don ’ t think so. i will argue that the recent growth performance in most parts of europe is in line with that of other advanced economies. no better, no worse. the european union is home to a diverse set of countries. they are at quite different stages of economic and institutional development. just looking at

' s interests. it is a question of putting a danish fingerprint on the key discussions and decisions that are shaping and developing the monetary - policy framework for the euro area and this area's influence on global economic policy in a broader sense. the governing council of the ecb has decided that when the number of euro area member states reaches 19, i. e. three more than at present, it will introduce a rotation system in relation to voting in the governing council, as is already the case in the federal reserve. when this system is introduced, the central - bank governors of all euro area member states will, for short periods, be unable to vote in the governing council, but they will all participate fully in the meetings and be entitled to speak. in my assessment, this system will not significantly reduce the influence of the individual central - bank governors in the governing council.