Until recently, Europe lacked the tools for managing a sovereign crisis. Between 2010 and 2012 EU countries disbursed some € billion in loans to their partners in difficulty, either directly or through the newly established common financing instruments (the European Financial Stability Facility, EFSF, and the European Stability Mechanism, ESM).
Italy’s contribution amounted to € billion, which according to official estimates will rise to more than € billion in 2014. The European reforms are still in the making. Their full pay-off, as well as the reward for national efforts, will come in the medium term.