There has also been progress through the various euro-area summits in building political structures that, over time, have the prospect of delivering more disciplined fiscal policy than has been the case in the past. Clearly, more will need to be done, and there is still the possibility of a very disorderly outcome in Europe.
According to provisional figures, the harmonised inflation rate for May most recently stood at 6.3% in Germany and 6.1% in the euro area as a whole. It is still too soon to speak of stable prices, even if these rates are considerably lower than they were last autumn.