Euro rescue mechanism is a phantom giant ... One of the unforgettable characters in a famous German children's book is a phantom giant. Seen from afar, he looks like a giant. But the closer you get, the smaller he becomes. In Michael Ende's Jim Knopf, the phantom giant turned out to be an old man of average height with a long beard. Whenever I hear about European Council resolutions, I am reminded of that poor old man. Each of the council's crisis resolution strategies has looked impressive. The agreement reached on March 11 not only appeared comprehensive, it also came as a surprise. Unfortunately, when you look from closer up, as I did last week, the agreement begins to look smaller. By the end of the week, it had crumbled. – Business Day/Financial Times

Dominant Social Theme: The EU must do better. Holding together 20-plus countries in an economic pact is difficult but the alternative (the inevitable, worrisome "anarchy" of separate nation-states) is worse.