Recent event testify to the fact that all of this is not abstract theory. In late 2007 and early 2008, trade union staged a revival of collective bargaining throughout Europe and the euro area in particular. Wage outcomes from these bargaining agreement have been much improved and the expectation is that the collectively bargained wages in the euro area will increase from a too modest 2 percent rate of growth to a still relatively modest rate of growth slightly above 2.5 percent. The ECB has watched this evolution with dismay, eyeing such wage growth for triggering inflationary second round effects. In return, the ECB has refused to cut interest rate and is now even contemplating a rise in interest rate and this in the midst of an economic slowdown and a financial crisis. The remainder of the story is not hard to guess: the ECB will trigger another serious slowdown of the euro area economy, set to take place during end 2008 and 2009. This will push up unemployment and weaken again the bargaining position of workers. If the ECB dose not get wage sacrifices directly derived from flexible markets, it will obtain it “through the back door” by unnecessarily creating a slump in growth and higher unemployment.