The Eurogroup should act as a catalyst and a caucus for reforms which are of the competence of the EU but which are of particular importance for the functioning of the euro area. The euro area should promote cross-border labour mobility. As regards policy fields for which member countries are responsible, the EU should use the budget review of 2008/2009 as an opportunity to direct EU spending towards promoting growth and reforms. The euro area could foster policy learning through resorting more systematically to independent assessment and benchmarking and encourage the Commission to enhance its surveillance role by issuing under its own responsibility nonlegally-binding assessments and recommendations along the lines of IMF Article 4 staff reports. The Eurogroup should consider issuing formal recommendations to a country whose policy represents a threat to the normal operation and sustainability of EMU. In the rare case where trade-offs between structural reforms and budgetary adjustment arise, such trade-offs should be addressed by requesting from the country concerned a time-bound commitment to reach a specified debt-to-GDP ratio.