On June 28-29, European leaders were summoned to Brussels for two long-awaited meetings of the European Council and the Euro Summit. Most of the public attention in Europe was focused on the migratory issues and on the heated negotiations within the European Council, while the Euro Summit, although expected to take resolute steps towards reforming the euro area, flew mostly under the radar. A concise final communiqué raised the impression that the leaders had held over the discussion on the future of the euro area and deferred all the important decisions to the meeting planned for the end of this year. In fact, the final Euro Summit Statement is highly significant since it marks a bitter setback for anybody feeling the urgency to strengthen the rules and institutions that preside over the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It is also a source of very serious concerns from the perspective of specific Italian interests.

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