Q: Of the five countries to receive assistance from the European Stability Mechanism [ESM] or its predecessor the European Financial Stability Facility [EFSF], four have needed only one programme. Which do you view as the biggest success stories?
A: All four are successes, although for some the crisis is further behind than others. Cyprus, for instance, came out of its programme only a year ago, but has already joined the other countries as a big success story. That’s perhaps not very well-known, because it is a small country. But considering how serious and painful the programme was in Cyprus – where the financial sector shrunk by about half – it has come a long way in a short time. Growth came back earlier than expected, its fiscal accounts are in surplus, and competitiveness has returned.
