countries to overcome the crisis. this suggests that european integration has led europe ’ s citizens to fundamentally reappraise the value of cooperation in difficult times. economic and monetary union constitutes the avant garde of this long term historical process. it is important to keep in mind this long term perspective, looking beyond the ongoing economic and financial challenges in the euro area. emu is an unprecedented achievement in history of sovereign nations. euro area countries have voluntarily chosen to share sovereignty for the sake of common goals. the “ epoque ” let me now turn to the epochal view. the epoch in braudel ’ s view is a period of time over which medium term trends can be meaningfully assessed. the medium term for central banks, as regards the definition of price stability, is a duration of several years. therefore the 12 years since the launch of emu is an appropriate length of time to allow for a review of whether medium term goals have been met. as regards monetary union the first aim is price stability, the primary mandate of the ecb. the ecb governing council has defined price stability as an annual increase in consumer prices of below 2 %, but close to 2 %, over the medium term. since the launch of emu the average annual inflation rate in the euro area has been 1. 97 %. this is a better performance than any large european economy over the last 50 years. it has also helped the euro establish itself as the second - most important international reserve and transaction currency, trusted by financial markets. this has been possible because the ecb ’ s actions were enshrined in a medium - term oriented monetary policy strategy. our definition of price stability is the needle in our compass and has guided the steady course of monetary policy over the last 12 years. on a consolidated basis the euro area performed well in terms of growth and employment, also in an international comparison. adjusted for differences in population growth, per capita gdp growth in the euro area over the last decade has been almost the same as in the united states, at about 1 % per year. as regards the dispersion of real gdp growth rates across euro area countries, they are comparable to the equivalent dispersion between the states of the u. s. on employment, the euro area made significant progress as well, with overall employment increasing by 14 million during the first twelve years, compared with a bis central bankers ’ speeches rise in employment of about 8 million in the united states. and the overall yearly

permit the european union to face up with the new globalised world. or, we do not convincingly succeed into this direction, and then a new jump in the institutional framework of europe toward a political federation will appear necessary. it is often said that europe has demonstrated the capacity to make progress when it has to draw lessons from its own difficulties. i find this notion in jean monnet ’ s remarks, immediately after the conference of the “ six ” on 23 july 1952, on the e. c. s. c., almost 60 years ago. at the end of chapter 14 of his memoires, he writes : “ je dis a francois fontaine : nous avons quelques heures pour nous reposer, et quelques mois pour reussir. ensuite … ensuite – poursuivit fontaine en souriant, nos rencontrerons de grandes difficultes dont nous nous servirons pour avancer a nouveau. – c ’ est bien cela, n ’ est - ce pas? – c ’ est cela meme. vous avez tout compris sur l ’ europe. ” “ i told francois fontaine : we have a few hours to rest, and a few months to succeed. then … then said a smiling fontaine, we will meet great difficulties which we will use to advance further. is it the right way to look at it? it is exactly the right way. you have understood everything about europe! ” tommaso was often mentioning this remark of jean monnet when we were discussing together the future of europe. more than ever, europe, coping with the present challenges, needs to demonstrate its sense of direction. this is no time for fatigue. this is no time for complacency. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches