The first issue is the lack of democracy in our existing structures.Let’s face it, the Eurogroup as we know it is rather a pale imitation of a democratic body.

Jeroen, this is no reflection on your presidency. You have provided very effective leadership in the most challenging of times and you have taken steps to increase transparency.

But the problem is a structural one. We are talking about decisions that are first prepared by officials – in almost complete opacity– and then taken by Ministers behind closed doors, often after very limited discussions,and with no formal rules. Unlike in a normal Council formation, the European Commission does not have the prerogatives in the Eurogroup to promote and advance the general interest of the euro area as a whole. Major decisions are taken on national budgets and reforms and no one is – or feels – accountable for these decisions to the European Parliament.

I would go so far as to say that this flaw in the governance of EMU is a democratic deficit, and sometimes in the past, when we look at Greece, it has beenclose to a democratic scandal.

As you can gather from what I have already said, I believe that our Economic and Monetary Union requires a quantum leap forward on the institutional front to fix this political vacuum. We cannot go on having the main decision-making forum for the euro area detached from the most basic democratic standards, as enshrined in the Community method.

Reformingthe euro area’s governance is also a prerequisite for increased solidarity. Any strengthening of EU powers must be reflected in a more democratic euro area.

It is no secret that I believe this institutional rebalancing should be achieved through the creation of a High Representative-type figure responsible for the economic and financialaffairs of the euro area. This figure should:

*Be institutionally robust, by combining the roles of European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, my successor, and President of the Eurogroup.

• Be democratically legitimate. This means, she or he, would be accountable to the European Parliament. As I indicated earlier, Eurogroup decisions should be subject to proper oversight by Europe’s elected representatives.

*Be technically supported by a euro area Treasury, which would be responsible for economic and fiscal supervision, coordinating the issuance of a European safe asset and managing the macroeconomic stabilisation mechanism – on which I will say more in a moment. To put it more simply, sheor he would be in charge of coordinating the economic policy of the euro area.