39. Stresses that in the current period of tight credit conditions the role of the two banks is highlighted both inside and outside the European Union; calls on both banks to keep their commitments with regard to third countries even in economic difficult times;

42. Stresses that in the current period of tight credit conditions the role of the two banks is highlighted both inside and outside the European Union; calls on both banks to keep their commitments with regard to third countries even in economic difficult times;

The Council and the Commission, when assessing the adjustment path toward the medium-term budgetary objective, shall take into account whether a higher adjustment effort is made in economic good times, whereas the effort might be more limited in economic bad times.

I am not saying this out of a desire to repeat the reasons given by those of us who supported the creation of Economic and Monetary Union 10 years ago, but due to the analysis of what has happened in that decade and of what we must do now, in these very difficult economic times.

This is the most topical and most difficult debate during economic good times, because during economic good times, it is more difficult, not in economic terms but in political terms, to carry on consolidating public finances and the instruments in the hands of the Commission and the Council to assist in that correction of public finances beyond the 3% limits and towards the mid-term objective of balance in structural terms.

The reform agreed at the March European Council basically consists of placing more emphasis on anti-cyclic policies at good times in the cycle, of placing more emphasis on multilateral monitoring of the economic policies implemented during good economic times, on paying more attention within budgetary monitoring to the problems and challenges of mid- and long-term sustainability and, as a trade-off, with this greater attention to anti-cyclic policies and policies aimed at improving sustainability and greater flexibility in the application of the instruments in the Treaty, which are still there for the purposes of enhanced budgetary monit ...[+++]oring in the excessive deficit procedures.