All 17 members of the eurozone, indeed all 27 members of the EU, must now acknowledge two lessons that have emerged from the ongoing crisis in the eurozone: first, there is no substitute for timely, coordinated action when the single currency is under pressure – a stitch in time saves nine; second, all eurozone countries are effectively in the same boat. If the boat springs a leak, everyone sinks. A quicker and more concerted response would have succeeded in limiting the fall-out from the crisis and cost far less in both financial and political terms.
The European Financial Stabilisation Facility, set up in a hurry in May 2010 in an attempt to stop the rot, will shortly be able to call on some €500bn in the event of any further eurozone countries facing serious liquidity problems. From 2013 onwards, member states have also now agreed to perpetuate this financial stability mechanism, even agreeing to amend the Treaty of Lisbon to avoid any legal ambiguity.