Mr. Marco Buti:

I was not surprised. The Commission took the decision which at the time looked controversial, so it was a courageous decision in 2001. I have said many times in today's testimony that, in retrospect, many things were not right. In retrospect, we did not have a set of tools that was complete. In retrospect, the view on the working of the economy was either non-complete or deficient. On this particular case, which is the 2001 recommendation, it was the right one in retrospect but I was not surprised by the push-back because it went against the wind at the time. Ireland was performing beautifully. The public finances were considered to be healthy, well within the 3% limit under the Maastricht treaty. Why should the Commission come out and criticise the poster child? It was a courageous decision. The push-back was natural at the time so it was not a surprise but in retrospect, as I indicated, what was done was the right thing to do.