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Let me first of all warmly welcome the new US Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew to the European Union.
Our meeting today was a good opportunity to discuss a wide range of economic issues of common concern. We took stock of the current situation and the outlook for the world economy and in particular of developments in the United States and in the European Union. And we exchanged views on the best course of action.
Both of our economies continue to heal from the financial and economic crisis. We continue to rebalance and rebuild our economic potential to ensure strong, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs going forward. It is a long and difficult process but one that we stick to with determination on both sides of the Atlantic.
There is a vivid debate both in the United States and in the European Union about fiscal policy and the pace of fiscal consolidation. European economies face high levels of debt, deep structural medium term challenges and short term economic headwinds that we need to confront. In order to do so, the EU Heads of State or Government in March agreed that the only way out of the crisis is to keep tackling its root causes. Our economic strategy has four strands.
First. We must restore financial stability and maintain it: this is vital for the confidence of consumers and investors, a key condition for internal demand and growth. We have made significant progress in correcting internal imbalances in the euro zone since the second halfof last year. But there is no room for complacency.
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