as an easing in credit standards for loans to enterprises. however, we should not forget that credit standards overall remain rather tight from a historical perspective. as mentioned before, it was exactly against the backdrop of weak credit dynamics contributing to a subdued inflation outlook that we decided in early september to adopt a number of additional monetary policy measures, specifically designed to support the bis central bankers ’ speeches extension of credit to the real economy. as they work through the economy, these measures will help inflation rates return to below, but close to, 2 %. what else is needed : well, it is now in the hands of governments to act decisively on further structural reforms that will ensure higher sustainable growth and employment in the euro area. also, on the fiscal policy side, governments should not unravel the progress made in fiscal consolidation, but use any leeway to make fiscal policies more growth - friendly. as regards monetary policy, we remain fully determined to counter risks to the medium - term outlook for inflation. as i said in the european parliament last monday, we stand ready to use additional unconventional instruments within our mandate, and alter the size or composition of our unconventional interventions should it become necessary to further address risks of a too prolonged period of low inflation. bis central bankers ’ speeches

to how the global economy could look like in 30 or 40 years. even if you do not take their results at face value, the projections point to a profound rebalancing in the distribution of global output if these countries make full use of their potential for growth. in any way, they leave no doubt that the prospects of emerging markets will be critical to how the world economy evolves over the next decades. the current discussions on the appropriate representation of emerging markets at the international monetary fund show that policy makers do take seriously the current setting and these future prospects. returning to today ’ s world, let us consider the implications of the emergence of these fast growing countries for the euro area. growth in emerging markets increases the demand for those euro area goods and services where the euro area has competitive advantages. and since the euro area is much more open than other major economies both with respect to there is no single definition of the group of emerging markets. in line with the article entitled “ financial flows to emerging market economies : changing patterns and recent developments ” published in the ecb ’ s monthly bulletin of janaury 2005, the term emerging markets here is meant to comprise russia and turkey in europe ; argentina, brazil, chile, colombia, mexico and venezuela in latin america ; and china, hong kong sar, india, indonesia, malaysia, singapore, south korea, taiwan and thailand in asia. see “ dreaming with brics : the path to 2050 ”, global economics paper no. 99, goldman sachs, 1 october 2003. see john hawksworth, “ the world in 2050 – how big will the major emerging market economies get and how can the oecd compete? ”, price waterhouse coopers, march 2006. in a speech on “ the new global economic geography ” dated 25 august 2006, stanley fischer, governor of the bank of israel, referred to a study by angus maddison, evidence to the select committee on economic affairs, house of lords, february 2005. trade and financial openness the euro area has the potential to take advantage of the new opportunities. our exports and imports of goods and services account for around one fifth of gdp, more than in the us or japan. and indeed, our trade relations with emerging markets have strengthened considerably over the time. the share of emerging markets in euro area trade has grown from about one third in 1999 to more than 40 % today. moreover, the euro area has become a destination for foreign direct investment ( fdi ) from emerging