euros, including special purchases in late august, before the regular purchasing programme began. so far, these transactions have not weakened the krona, and it could be argued that the long - term effects could just as well be in the other direction. in closing, i wish to say this : if we succeed in restoring confidence in the icelandic economy, which is the cornerstone of the imf programme – and this includes lifting the capital controls and regaining access to foreign credit markets – we will be able to rise up from the depths. how quickly we can travel once we ’ ve reached the surface is another matter. it could be that we will have to content ourselves with less than before, but that is not a given. if we play our cards right, our small country – with its location and natural resources – can enjoy a wealth of possibilities. what we may never do again, however, is force our economy to grow faster than it is able to do – which has dire consequences for stability.

to a more sustainable economy are another of the fundamental challenges we face. fiscal policy should take the lead in attaining objectives in this field, both to deter the most environmentally harmful activities, through an internationally harmonised tax system, and to foment the public and private investment needed to develop cleaner technologies and alleviate the social costs of the transition. as to inequality, we began the current crisis with a higher level than was the case at the end of the previous upturn, and everything suggests that this crisis will entail a further increase. the employment protection and income support measures approved should contribute to lessening the vulnerability of the households most affected. also, many of the reforms intended to improve productivity or lower unemployment and job insecurity are vital for reducing inequalities. the minimum life income scheme could, in coordination with regional government arrangements, contribute to alleviating extreme poverty. in this connection it will be important, as provided for in the scheme ’ s founding legislation, to assess its application on an ongoing basis. also, and in particular, we must determine whether the eligibility requirements are effective for supporting the most vulnerable groups, and whether its design offers sufficient incentives for beneficiaries to join the labour market. an additional matter is the problem of the affordability of rental housing. international evidence shows that policies aimed at increasing supply are the most effective. some countries have opted to combine the introduction of public guarantees with tax incentives for the private - sector development of rental housing. it is also crucial to ensure legal security for owners. turning to european economic policies, despite the response during the crisis, there are structural shortcomings in euro area governance that need resolving. from the standpoint of crisis management, resolving these shortcomings would also be important, given that we cannot rule out the fact that the impact of the pandemic on the economy, and its persistence, may be greater than expected. we must persevere with a european response to this crisis. completing the banking union with the approval of a fully mutualised european deposit guarantee scheme would contribute decisively to ensuring financial stability in the euro area, both in the coming months and in the medium term. deepening the capital markets union project would likewise be crucial. and a further priority is to analyse the suitability of european bank resolution and winding - up regulations to a hypothetical systemic crisis, and to set in place a common procedure for the administrative winding - up of credit institutions. the crisis has also shown that monetary policy