[…].It is thus right not only to applaud yesterday’s step but also to underline its unfinished nature, the risks and the rashness.” Since 2010 this incompleteness has fueled the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area. In the absence of political union, the economic governance of the area was based on a fragile alliance between market forces and rules of conduct.
Market forces were to ensure the economic convergence of the member countries and the definition and implementation of the necessary structural reforms at national level. Rules of conduct were expected to guarantee prudent budgetary policies.