upward pressure on productivity. third, i believe that we should oversee national reforms to promote growth in a way that is a parallel to the way in which we oversee fiscal policies. here we might draw inspiration from the fiscal compact and the idea of avoiding unsustainable policies in the first place and providing incentives for positive reform. in a single currency area, national reforms that affect growth potential and competitiveness are just as important as fiscal policies because they are equally essential for economic sustainability. fourth, many items that are considered at the national level could be considered at the eu level. for example, measures to foster labour mobility could be implemented, inter alia by facilitating the cross - border portability of pension rights. european funds could be reallocated to areas most conducive to long - term growth and durable employment opportunities. and the capacity of the european investment bank to finance infrastructure projects could be strengthened. as you can see, there is a long - standing agenda on growth. it is time to implement it with determination and confidence about its longer - term benefits. collectively we can compete more effectively in the global economy. collectively we can better support growth and job creation. and collectively we can preserve our common european values of fairness, social cohesion and social progress. 3. considerations regarding the longer - term vision for economic and monetary union let me turn to the broader question about the evolution of the euro area towards a genuine economic union – one that is commensurate with our monetary union. as you know, i am in close contact with presidents herman van rompuy, jose - manuel barroso and jean - claude juncker to reflect on elements of a longer - term vision for our economic and monetary union. ultimately, such a vision can be the basis for a process where objectives, progress, conditions and deadlines are specified ; and where credibility is substantiated by action in the short run that is in line with long - term objectives. since this is a joint effort and our work is still in progress, i cannot provide specifics about this matter as yet. but i can tell you that my reflections are founded on the central aim of securing stability and sustained prosperity for the euro area. price stability will remain a cornerstone of economic and monetary union, as it has been since the beginning. but in order to preserve broader economic stability, we need strengthened foundations in the fields of financial, fiscal and structural policy - making. bis central bankers ’ speeches the strengthened foundations should secure the

their ccyb frameworks in this direction. at the ecb, we strongly support this positive neutral cyclical buffer approach. with this characterisation of the conjunctural situation, let me offer a few specific reflections on how research can support policy - making in the face of current challenges. the first concerns macroprudential capital buffer releases. deciding the appropriate timing for the release of accumulated macroprudential buffers is challenging. in our view, this decision should be linked to clear constraints in the supply of bank credit due to banks'capital positions. while research so far has focused on broader macrofinancial signals for capital releases, i see scope to complement this work with analyses of conditions and banks'behaviour that would justify releases. this would surely help making capital releases more effective in reducing the pro - cyclical effects of bank credit in periods of economic distress. the second reflection concerns positive neutral capital buffers. as i have mentioned, this approach is increasingly being used across countries, including those in the banking union. models to assess the overall benefits of the positive neutral versus a purely risk - based buffer framework could be very useful in substantiating policy makers'support for this approach. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches finally, so far, i focussed on macroprudential capital. but this year reminded us that also liquidity issues can become quickly systemic. on the one hand, we saw shocks to market liquidity in the united kingdom last autumn, when price falls in core government bond markets led to forced selling by non - bank financial intermediaries, and risked becoming self - reinforcing. on the other hand, earlier this year we saw shocks to funding liquidity, where deposit redemptions at an unparalleled speed led to the largest ever bank failures in the united states, and the abrupt merger of a global systemically important swiss bank following liquidity outflows. these episodes are a stark reminder that more efforts are needed to understand and mitigate systemic liquidity risks. increased digitalisation and use of social media may at some point require a review of the design of microprudential liquidity standards for banks, such as the liquidity coverage ratio. more importantly, the gradual and systemwide decline in liquidity implies that a macroprudential perspective on liquidity will become more relevant going forward. in principle, the existing regulation already provides some scope to introduce liquidity measures for systemic liquidity risk for banks.