Could this be the first step to end the crisis?

It took 19 summits, nearly 50 months from the official start of the crisis in distant Iceland and countless meetings and consultations between European leaders, for the EU to give a convincing answer to the speculative pressures by the markets.
 
It took 14 hours at the meeting of Eurozone Heads of State to ...bend German Chancellor Merkel and actually record, for the first time ever, a change in the tight fiscal policy of "German inspiration," that had so severely afflicted the European economy and ultimately proved unable to cope with the crisis that dramatically affects the major European economies such as those of Italy and Spain.
 
The historic decision of EU leaders on the morning of June 29 allows for a first note of optimism that finally they have reached a series of moves and actions that may mark the beginning of the end of the crisis.
 
What is most important is the aversion of the "27", whereby they express their belief in "the elimination of the vicious circle of absolute dependence of the State economies on the markets and of the banks on the quality of government bonds in their portfolios."
 
In essence, the European leaders decided on the direct use of funds from the stability mechanisms (EFSF and ESM) for the recapitalization of European banks, but also for purchases of government bonds when markets are "pushing" interest rates too high.
 
The advantages of this solution lie in the fact that there won’t be an adoption of a strict austerity memorandum, as in Greece, Ireland and Portugal, there won’t be time-consuming processes involved, but each country will commit to adopting rational economic policies. However, this European aid will not burden the budget deficit of any country; that is, there will be no need in the future for a "Greek-type PSI."
 

European leaders also decided to establish an integrated supervision of banks by the European banking authority. The charter for banking consolidation is expected to be completed by the European Commission by the end of the year.
 
With these decisions the Europeans managed to ensure the cohesion of the Eurozone and protect its members from the markets, something which is already reflected in the stock market dash.
 
Germany and the "battle of impressions" of the …Iron Chancellor
 
Essentially, the "winner" of the summit was the Eurozone. And if there is a "loser", that would be German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Or so think her compatriots, political friends and opponents.
 
A few hours after the two-day Summit, which proved very painful for her, Merkel was forced to give a "battle of impressions" at the German parliament too. Eventually she succeeded in getting the approval of the budget pact and the ESM by a large majority, but faced numerous complaints and a direct attack from the opposition, who criticized her attitude towards managing the crisis.