Europe’s architects knew this, and wanted and anticipated greater progress in the future. Even before the introduction of the euro, the unusual status of a Stateless currency had been underlined, as had the institutional solitude of the ECB and the problems posed by the imperfect mobility of capital and labour.
Thanks to the decline in uncertainty surrounding Italy’s economic policy stance, lessened tensions with the European institutions and greater monetary accommodation, yields on Italian government securities have declined significantly, falling to historically low levels; yields on ten-year bonds now stand at around 1 per cent.