Mr. Marco Buti:

As you rightly recall, the 2003 crisis was due to a lack of compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact by the two largest members of the euro area. You will recall also the Commission, at the time, took the courageous decision of taking the two countries and the Council to court over that. Subsequently, the pact was reformed to make it more fit for purpose. In the case of Ireland, the way the pact was conceived and implemented at the time did not capture the essence of a country with such exponential growth rates. With the budget artificially improved by high tax elasticities related to the property boom, the parameter of the pact that focused on the 3% deficit limit and the 60% debt limit did not allow for the essence of the Irish problem. We know better now, and the set of tools that we have allow us to focus on problems that are specific to Ireland.